Engineers protest move to raise pension fund subscription fee

AMMAN — Several members of the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) on Saturday organised a protest in front of the Professional Associations Complex to protest moves by the JEA to raise the subscription to the syndicate's pension fund.

More than 100 engineers from various governorates came together to “preserve the rights of Jordanian engineers” and “guarantee a better future for their families”, organisers said. 

Munther Suyyagh, one of the protesters, told The Jordan Times the JEA council should “re-examine the status of the pension fund”. 

There are three levels for the break-even point for any business, the pension fund entered the first level in 2013, he claimed, adding that the second level would be in 2019 and the third in 2024. 

“The second level is when the fund’s revenues are equal to its earnings. The third level is the most dangerous… The fund would start eating its own flesh. This is what we are trying to prevent,” Suyyagh added.

In remarks in January, JEA President Majid Tabba said the fund has not failed.

The syndicate at the time released the findings of an actuarial study which revealed that the fund reached a break-even point of equal pension subscriptions and pensions in 2014 instead of the expected year of 2017.

The fund will also reach a second break-even point — where pension subscriptions and investment profits would equal its expenditure — in 2019 instead of 2021.

The study also expected a third break-even point — where the total revenues would be equal to total expenditures — to be reached in 2028 instead of 2031.

Earlier this month, Tabba said the JEA council has proposed gradually raising fund subscription fees as of 2018 and over a three-year period, but said no measures will be taken to raise the pension age.

The proposal aims at pushing the second and third break-even points from 2019 to 2035 and from 2028 to 2046 respectively, according to the president of the JEA, which includes some 130,000 members.

Suyyagh criticised the proposal, claiming that many engineers are against it.

Tabba has said that the fund has a book value of around JD220 million and a market value of around JD330 million.

Khuloud Majali, another JEA member, claimed that problems with the fund started "a long time ago", accusing officials of attempting to cover up its losses.

Majali said she has no objection to raising the subscription fees but called for accurate studies that prove the validity of such a measure.

For his part, Tabbaa said the engineers “do not have the right to object” since the decision has not been implemented yet. 

The right place to protest the decision would be at the fund’s authority, where the association will be holding a meeting by the end of the month, he added. 

“Around 20,000 people are subscribed to it, so, instead of protesting on the street, they can attend the meeting and vote either for or against the decision,” Tabba told The Jordan Times.