The Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr. Hamda bint Hassan al-Sulaiti has said that Council approved two draft laws of social insurance and military retirement. The laws will enhance social protection for Qatari citizens, and meet the expectations of retirees.
It was pointed out that the draft laws are indicative of wise leadership to achieve well-being for all citizens. She stated that the draft laws were implemented as directed by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in order to provide a decent life for citizens.
He intends to improve the standard of living for everyone in a manner that guarantees dignity. It also includes retirees who have made a lot of effort to serve the country and contribute to its growth and prosperity.
She described that the two drafts represented a major jump that benefited retirees and citizens in general. She added that raising the minimum pension will achieve balance and stability and will also keep pace with rapid developments to withstand the increased cost of living.
The Deputy Speaker said two draft laws would create balance and would include new categories that hadn’t been covered by insurance protection.
She noted that the articles of the two draft laws highlighted the wise leadership’s interest in women, motherhood and family, as well as supporting the continued efforts made by Qatar to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
She stated that amendments have been made in the two draft laws regarding the widow’s pension share to help her with the cost of living, and support her children. The two drafts also provide for an increase in the pension share of the widow with no beneficiaries to 100%.
The laws also provided the right to keep the pension without reduction, where the woman has to take care of her children with disabilities.
She also pointed out that the articles of the two drafts included many factors that would benefit society in various ways.
It was explained that retirement pension shall not be less than QR 15,000 as a minimum, while the two draft laws set the highest ceiling for pensions to be no more than QR 100,000, which is the height of the ceiling in the region.
It is permissible to grant a periodic pension allowance by a decision of the Council of Ministers, a new feature for retirees related to the cost of living and the solvency of pension funds.
It was stated that the draft laws included more than 25 new features, most importantly, setting the minimum and maximum pension, and allowing to have more than one pension or salary. She added that such advantages will not only contribute to improving the conditions of retirees but also contribute to raising the country’s rating in several global indicators.
The Military Retirement draft law also stipulated adding a specialization allowance that does not exceed QR 5,000 to the subscription account base, in addition to housing allowance. Meanwhile, the draft Social Insurance Law stipulated adding the social allowance and housing allowance to the subscription account base.
She thanked the chairman and members of the joint committee formed by the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committees and the Financial and Economic Affairs Committees for their appreciable efforts during the past period. It was only after studying the two draft laws carefully and thoroughly she could come up with these fruitful results.
Members of the Shura Council affirmed that the Council seeks, through the exercise of its functions in accordance with the powers granted to it by the constitution, to achieve the interests of the nation and citizens.
