Khaberni - Dr. Tariq Al-Khatib, a Medical Association Council member, said that the association faces a financial deficit in the retirement fund amounting to 45 million dinars in its Amman and Jerusalem centers.
Al-Khatib added that in the previous council, the association resorted to the Social Security Corporation to conduct an actuarial study to determine measures to stop the financial deficit, pointing out that it pays retirement salaries to 6,600 retired doctors and their heirs between the Amman and Jerusalem centers. He further noted that the monthly requirements of the fund for paying salaries are estimated at 1.3 million dinars, while the monthly revenues vary between 400 and 700 thousand dinars, leading to a monthly deficit ranging from 500 to 600 thousand dinars, according to Al-Ghad.
Al-Khatib explained that the association finds it difficult to pay full salaries to doctors, saying, "The current solution is limited to paying half the salary with some exceptions."
Al-Khatib confirmed that, despite the current circumstances, the association is capable of overcoming the financial deficit crisis faced by the retirement fund through a balanced package of measures combining administrative and financial reform, and activating the government's role in implementing laws and regulations related to the fund's financing sources, especially the cooperative system for doctors.
He clarified that this vision is based on two axes, the first being a comprehensive reform in managing the retirement fund, ensuring higher performance efficiency, and the second in strengthening investment management by forming an independent committee, comprising doctors and financial experts, who would be responsible for setting clear investment policies, diversifying investments to reduce risks, and ensuring sustainable returns.
He mentioned that the association is still waiting for the government's approval on the proposed amendments to the retirement fund system, which have been submitted to it several months ago, indicating that these amendments aim to address the continuous deficit since 2017 and ensure regular payment of retirement salaries to doctors after years of struggle.
He indicated that the proposed solutions include integrated legislative and investment aspects, stopping the financial hemorrhaging, and enhancing the association's assets, affirming that the association made an interim decision to pay half a retirement salary instead of a complete halt that was experienced in the previous phase, with an exception for chronic medical conditions and doctors unable to work as well as heirs, who are paid full salaries.
According to the latest actuarial study, the fund is expected to see a noticeable improvement in revenues over the next 4 to 5 years, reflecting greater regularity in salary disbursements and achieving long-term financial stability.
Dr. Hazem Al-Qaralal, the spokesperson for the association, said, "The retirement fund is cooperative, relying 80% on participant subscriptions, while real estate investments make up 20% of its resources," explaining that when it was established, there were no expenses because there were no retirees, and the subscribers were young, thus there was no salary disbursement. However, he remarked, the mathematical equation it was based on was incorrect; how can a doctor pay 6 dinars for a 180 dinar salary?
Al-Qaralal added that after years, with the presence of retirees, the problem began to appear and escalated until 2015, and in that year, the total disbursements became more than the fund's income, and in 2016 there were delays in disbursing salaries, leading to around 2020 when salaries were not disbursed, and after 2020 the association made a decision to disburse half a retirement salary.
He continued, "We discussed the available options with social security, and they confirmed that if we continued on the same path, the deficit would reach 150 million after a few years, so the solutions were first to make substantial amendments to the retirement fund system." He added that "These amendments were drafted by the legal department, presented to the general assembly, received approval, and then sent to the government for accreditation," noting that they would solve the problem by 70% and get us out of the predicament."
He said, "We introduced a basic tier for new doctors not wishing to join the fund, as many doctors are opting out of the fund, saying they are satisfied with social security," adding, "That's why we introduced a basic, non-compulsory tier, where a doctor only pays his membership fee to the association, and over 3,000 doctors joined it, greatly reducing the pressure on the fund."
Al-Qaralal explained, "We are working on improving the retirement fund's investments. Although our debts are around 45 million, when we started, we had assets in the form of lands worth over 53 million." He added, "Well, these assets. Part of it is leased, and we re-scheduled the contracts, signed new contracts, improved licenses for some plots, and we obtained a building permit for a hospital in Dabouq, which the owner will build, and after 20 years the ownership will revert to the association, and this action increased the land's value by 15 million, and there is another land where we re-formulated its contract with the lessee, who built a new commercial mall, also raising its value. These measures raised the asset value from 53 million to 75 million."
He emphasized, "The actions we have taken are a step in the right direction, after the amendment of the fund system, and over several years, the fund will begin to recover, and the financial crisis will gradually decrease." He affirmed that "the previous councils had mistakes and that's natural, but one council cannot be blamed for the entire crisis, as it is the result of accumulations over many years."
