‘600,000 beneficiaries of most generous social security law’ – PIFSS aims to support Kuwaiti youth

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 21, (KUNA): Kuwait’s social security law is among the “most generous” in terms of the rights it guarantees to beneficiaries, Director General of the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) Hamad Meshari Al-Humaidhi said Wednesday.

Up to 600, 000 people benefit from the law, Al-Humaidhi told KUNA in an interview Wednesday, noting the PIFSS has received up to 350,000 transactions so far in 2016, and has issued 450,000 certificates.

According to the PIFSS chief, the state’s contribution to social security exceeds 40 percent which gives the system further support and beneficiaries more advantages, he said. Thus, pensions are “unique.” An employee spends 30 years in service, and retires to receive a pension equal to 95 percent of his/her actual salary before retirement, a high rate compared to 60-70 percent in various parts of the world, he said.

In 1988, a new law was issued to provide social security to Kuwaitis overseas, by the same system applied at home, but a prescriber has to pay the employer’s share and receives a terminal or capital bonus. Unluckily, those covered by the overseas insurance are just 200 people, but the number is rising especially from the UAE, Al-Humaidhi said.

Meanwhile, the PIFSS has cut long path in handling services work electronically, instead of the traditional, yet dominant, paper work. It has e-connections with all the bodies that offer relevant services. To make it easier for citizens, the institution has opened several branches nationwide, and new ones will see light soon.

In addition to the PIFSS main domain, social insurance, it has adopted social service programs through which it seeks to offer further services to the society, Humaidhi said. These are topped with training programs for new graduates.

These aim in the first place to support the Kuwaiti youth and promote their professional skills through integrated programs, prompted by a strong belief in the significance of training and developing human resources in various fields, the PISS director general said. Kuwait began a pension scheme on January first, 1955, within the framework of civil employee system and retirement in the public sector.

The first independent law for pensions was issued by Law Decree No. 3/1960, which was became effective as of April first, 1960. This covered government employees, civil and military, and was followed by an independent law for pensions and indemnities for the military, in accordance with law No. 27/1961, which came into force on September ninth,1961. None of the above laws constituted an integrated system of social security.

Each of them dealt with a limited aspect and covered certain sectors of permanent government employees and the military.

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