Abu Dhabi: As part of a unified GCC campaign, the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA), in collaboration with pension and social security authorities in the GCC region, have launched a unified campaign aimed at raising awareness on the insurance protection extension system for registered GCC nationals employed in the UAE.
Speaking about the initiative, Dr. Maysa Rashed Ghadeer, Government Communications Director at the GPSSA, explained that launching the campaign in collaboration with the rest of the GCC countries represents a unified goal amongst all pension and social security authorities in the region to ensure citizens are offered the right type of insurance protection, regardless of whether it is within their own country or elsewhere in the GCC.
Unity, care
“Our aim is to ensure GCC nationals receive an insurance protection extension system outside their borders in order to secure their present and future, and encourage the transfer of GCC labor amongst all GCC countries in order to embody a form of unity and care amongst us, regardless of the country of origin,” she said.
According to the extension protection system, GCC nationals employed in UAE-based entities are registered with the GPSSA and receive their end-of-service and retirement pension in accordance to the pension law by which they are subject to in their own home country.
The same insurance system extends to the insured’s beneficiaries and to those who were supported by the insured or pensioner during his/her lifetime.
Mandatory registration
Registration is mandatory for GCC nationals employed in UAE-based government and private sectors, including free zones as well as the hotel and tourism sector.
As part of the pension and social security law, the individual must posses the GCC nationality in order to qualify for registration, as well as work for an employer who is subjected to the provisions of the civil retirement law.
In the event of not fulfilling any of those conditions, the insured’s participation in the system gets suspended.
As part of the registration mechanism, the pension authority in the GCC individual’s workplace country, in coordination with the pension authority in his/her home country, must register the employee and follow-up on collecting his/her monthly contributions in accordance to the insurance protection system established in their countries to ensure that their contributions are paid in a manner that does not exceed the employer’s share that is determined in the workplace country.
Employer’s responsibility
The responsibility for paying the contributions on behalf of the GCC national rests with the employer, who must deduct a percentage from the insured alongside the percentage prescribed for him/her and ensure the amount is transferred on monthly basis to the designated pension system bank account in the insured’s home country.
The protection extension system grants those covered by its provisions the possibility to merge employment years prior to the date of application of the system with the current employer.
It also permissible to join previous service periods in their countries in accordance with the terms of joining service periods in the pension authority to which they belong.
End-of-service gratuity
Employers must commit to paying the end-of-service gratuity prescribed for their GCC employees in accordance to the civil service regulations and labour law, including service periods prior to the application of the provision of the system, since the scheme does not challenge prearranged rights or benefits that are aligned with the regulations that the employer is expected to commit to.
Penalty for failure to register
The employer and the insured are mandated to register. Failure to register and contribute on behalf of an insured may result in insurance evasion, which is considered punishable by law.
The entity bears full responsibility in paying the additional amounts and fines due as a result of not registering, contributing or evening delaying payments, noting that they will not be exempt from registering retroactively.
