The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) together with the General Secretariat of Municipalities organized recently, a Seminar on Pensions and Social Insurance in the Secretariat building in Abu Dhabi.
A large number of employees from different local authorities, departments and ministries attended the seminar. Some of these ministries and departments
were Ministry of Industry and Planning, Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Municipalities in the UAE, Land Department, Economic Department, Chamber of Commerce, Courts Department and Attorney General, attended the seminar.
H.E. Abdul Rahman Al Baqer, Deputy Director General of the GPSSA said” this seminar is part of a series of seminars that aims to increase awareness of pensions and social insurance among employees of public and private sectors. He also expressed his appreciation to Ms. Jassem Darweesh Al Amin, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of Municipalities, for the tremendous efforts that he has made to introduce the Pensions and Social Insurance system to the employees.
He noted that the main objective of the forum was to identify the special rights and commitments of the insured during the course of their employment as well as upon retirement.
Mr. Abdul Rahman added: “This journey was initiated in accordance with the first federal law issued in 1974 covering salaries and pension rewards in the federal government. This law became the foundation for the new pension and social insurance regulations. It became the base for the salary and social insurance law number (7) issued in 1999 where all nationals working in federal, state, and private sectors are insured. It also helped in the establishment of the GPSSA under the law number (6) issued in 1999, which gave financial and administrative independence to this system”.
He also mentioned that the GPSSA primary role is to manage and administer
the funds of the beneficiaries of the pension schemes in accordance with the
law. This comes with the firm belief that providing the UAE national with the
financial reassurance and stability at the end of their employment,
encourages them to extend their employment time and increase the level of
their performance.
GPSSA is keen to expand social security coverage to include more categories
that are not part of the present system, such as employers themselves as well
as UAE nationals employed both in the GCC and worldwide. It also supports
employment in the private sector and encourages national employees to
continue their contribution to the private sector and work for longer periods.
GPSSA invests the available contributions to insure higher returns,
guaranteeing benefits of the insured. Accordingly, resources are invested in
secured portfolios with specific criteria. This type of investment allows
GPSSA to review and develop investment methods and introduce new
programs to increase returns for subscribers. These measures are expected
to facilitate the expansion of insurance services, balance the rights and
commitments for the insured, meet people’s aspirations and adopt an
insurance system based on robust foundations in order to serve the future
generation.
Mr. Abdul Rahman finally added that in order for the GPSSA to maintain a
consistent supply of financial benefits for the subscribers, actuarial methods
are used to calculate all funds under the administration of the GPSSA. He
also said that the law states that benefits are extended to assure a
comfortable life to the insured in case of natural or accidental death or
disability resulting from accidents at work, regardless of the work period.
