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ABU DHABI / WAM
The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) said that an insured individual is allowed to legally retire and receive a pension if the retirement criteria have been fulfilled.
As part of the “Know Your Law” awareness campaign launched at the beginning of the year, the GPSSA reviewed pension entitlement cases in Article 13 of Law No. 57 of 2023. This applies to newly employed Emiratis registered with the GPSSA from October 31 2023 onwards, not to those employed before that date who remain covered by the provisions of the previous Law No. 7 of 1999.
The authority highlighted several situations where the pension is disbursed, sometimes before their time, depending on the circumstances and conditions. For example, when an insured’s employment service has been ‘terminated’ due to a decease, total disability or a health-related incident that occurred due to, or during working hours, in which case, pension is disbursed to the pensioner if still alive, or to their heirs (known as beneficiaries), as long as an official medical committee has proved it.
Pensions are also paid to insured individuals once they retire, provided they have spent 15 or more years working. If the insured has not worked for that long, he/she becomes entitled to receiving an end-of-service gratuity instead. This is why the GPSSA continues to encourage Emiratis to work past 15 years in order to receive fixed pension amounts that may sustain and benefit an entire family.
Pensions are also allowed to be disbursed if an insured receives a disciplinary decision or judicial dismissal ruling, provided the contribution period is 30 years, and the insured has reached 55 years of age.
Under normal circumstances, an insured receives their entitled pension amount upon their request, provided that they have contributed for at least 30 years and reached 55.
Insured females, whether married, divorced or widowed, are entitled to receiving a pension if they contributed for 30 years and reached the age of 55.
The law also offers mothers different conditions regarding minimum contribution years and the pension entitlement age, with a reduction of two years in the contribution period (28 employment years) and three years less in age (52 years) for each of the fifth and sixth child; three and a half years for the contribution period (26.5 years of employment service), and four years for a 51-year-old female or a mother with a 7th child.
As per the UAE’s federal law, pensions are disbursed at the end of an insured employee’s period, provided that the government treasury in the relevant emirate bears the amount and that the Council has issued a Decision on the method of calculating the cost.