Amendments to SSC law address vulnerable groups, says Rahahleh

AMMAN — The proposed amendments to the Social Security Law aim to address insurance shortcomings, provide social security to vulnerable groups, support the financial sustainability of the Social Security Corporation (SSC), and ensure social security coverage for all employees, SSC Director General Hazem Rahahleh said on Monday.

During a meeting with a civil society coordination coalition (HIMAM), Rahahleh reminded attendees that SSC assets today total some JD14 billion, noting that a JD1.7 billion surplus has been transferred to the Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) over the past five years, and JD255 million has been transferred since the beginning of 2022. 

He reviewed top features of the bill, noting that early retirement is a current threat to SSC. According to Rahahleh, early retirement has become the rule, and retirement due to old-age has become the exception, which negatively affects pensions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The director general noted that the sum of current retirees’ income during their tenures reached some JD3.5 billion, while the amount paid to retirees through the present day totals approximately JD9.4 billion.

Amendments to the law include the introduction of a social solidarity account to cover university expenses for the children of subscribers, securing funds necessary to cover pension-earning periods, and covering marriage-related expenses of underprivileged subscribers, Rahahleh noted. 

He also said that the draft law will take annual inflation into consideration, calculating benefits according to the average inflation rate and the rate of wage increases, allowing early retirees to benefit from annual inflation-adjusted increases before they reach the age requirement for pensions.