Articles

Abu Dhabi, 22^nd April 2025 – Insured Emiratis must ensure their employment years are continuous and uninterrupted and that they have completed the qualifying contribution period in preparation for their retirement years.

The minimum period to obtain a retirement pension is 15 years and the insured reaching the age of 60, clarified the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) as part of its April 2025 campaign on raising awareness regarding the eligibility criteria’s and benefits in receiving a lucrative pension amount once retired.

According to Federal Law No. 7 for 1999 an Emirati employee who decides to voluntarily resign, while looking to receive a pension payment, must ensure he/she has completed 20 years of service and has reached the age of 50 to receive a retirement pension. Those subject to the provisions of Federal Law No. 57 of 2023 are required to spend 30 years in service and reach the age of 55.

The insured individual must ensure his/her employment/service period is continuous and uninterrupted. This is done through deciding to take advantage of merging previous and subsequent employment years in accordance with the provisions of Federal Law No. 7 of 1999 and Federal Law No. 57 of 2023 or accessing the “Shourak” program, which helps facilitates a merge request for those who have entered the labor market starting from 1^st July 2023 onwards. If the above-mentioned employer transfer decisions and the merge process timings are not fully met, the insured will be forced to start saving for a pension entitlement from scratch. To avoid such inconvenience, while preserving previous employment years upon completing the minimum eligibility service criteria’s the insured can opt to merge employment years, given he/she bears the financial payments that arise because of taking such a decision

As per Federal Law No. 7 of 1999, the insured receives 70% of the pension account salary once 20 years of service have been proven to be complete. This percentage increases by a further 2% for each year the insured spends after the 20 years period and up to 100% of the pension amount if employed for 35 years.

Federal Law No. 57 of 2023 claims that the insured must spend 30 years in service to obtain a retirement pension. In such case, pension is calculated at a rate of 2.67% for each year up to 30 years of service and at the rate of 4% for each year exceeding 30 years for up to 35 years of service, which is the period of obtaining the 100% of the pension amount, given that the insured is granted three salaries from the pension account for each year spent working after the 35 year period.