HM King Hamad
Bahrain pension funds merged
MANAMA, July 13, 2020
Bahrain's His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa today issued a decree-Law merging the public sector retirement fund and the Social Insurance Fund into one fund.
The merged Pension and Social Insurance Fund will be overseen by the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO), said a Bahrain News Agency report.
The revenues of the fund include those previously allocated for the public sector retirement fund and the Social Insurance Fund, in addition to those incurred from the investment of its funds or any other activities.
The decree-law stipulates that the annual rise in all pensions established under any law, pension or insurance scheme will be stopped.
In case the Actuarial Report detects a surplus in the Pension and Social Insurance Fund or the Pension Fund for Bahraini and non-Bahraini Officers and Members of the Bahrain Defence and Public Security Force, established by Decree-Law 6/1991, the surplus will deposited in a fund that is independent from both funds.
The surplus may be used, based on the approval of the Supreme Council for Military Retirement and the SIO Board of Directors, to increase pensions in a way that would not exceed the increase in the Consumer Price Index, and take the situation of retirees with low pensions.
The decree-law stipulates that retirees are not allowed to receive more than one pension under different retirement and insurance systems, except for those entitled to pensions because of disability, work accidents or kinship.
The pensioners who are entitled to any of the previous laws and get jobs that are not subject to the same law in which they are entitled to the pension may combine their previous service period with their new service period, according to the rules stipulated in the retirement and insurance laws and regulations, the law says.
They may also choose to continue receiving their pensions for their previous work period, in addition to the salaries they earn from their new jobs provided that they are not subject to retirement laws and insurance against work accidents.
Employers who fail to pay the insurance contributions stipulated by the Social Insurance Law promulgated by Decree-Law 24/ 1976 shall have to pay a fine not less than the total value of the unpaid contributions and not exceeding three times its value.
The value of the fines shall be referred to the Pension and Social Insurance Fund.
The Supreme Council for Military Retirement and the Minister of Finance and National Economy shall issue the necessary edicts to implement the provisions of the decree-law, based on the approval of the Board of Directors of the Social Insurance Organisation, it said.
