Khaberni - The Cabinet decided in its session held today, Tuesday, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Jafar Hassan, to approve the justifying reasons for the draft law amending the Social Security Law for the year 2026.
The draft law aims to enhance and expand the social protection system to include new categories, and to achieve a balance between the rights of the insured, and enhancing the sustainability of the insurance system.
The draft law also aims to enhance the independence of the Social Security Corporation and the governance of decision-making mechanisms within it, as the Corporation will be restructured and its model developed to emulate the model of the central bank, whereby a governor is appointed by a decision of the Cabinet, accompanied by the Royal Decree, with clear definition of his duties and powers within the clauses of the law, meaning he will not chair the board of directors of the Corporation as a minister in the government.
The draft law regulates retirement conditions, making mandatory retirement the basis and early retirement the exception; this is to ensure the sustainability of the insurance system and maintain the rights of the insured.
According to the amendments, anyone who meets the conditions for early retirement pension before the date 1/1/2027 is entitled to retire whenever they wish even after the enforcement of the amended law, and anyone who meets the conditions for mandatory retirement (old age) by reaching the age of 60 for males and 55 for females, and completed 180 contributions before the date 1/1/2028 is entitled to retire according to the provisions of the current law.
The number of contributions required for entitlement to an early retirement pension according to the amendments will be 360 contributions, regardless of the insured's age at the time of application, while the number of contributions required for entitlement to a mandatory retirement pension (old age) will be 240 contributions instead of 180, starting from 1/1/2028.
A gradual approach to raising the old age will also be adopted, at a rate of 6 months per year; to reach a maximum limit of 65 years for males and 60 years for females, starting from 1/1/2028, thus the mandatory retirement age "old age" will not practically increase by more than one year for those who have 4 - 5 years left until their retirement, whereas those who are now expected to retire in 2037 according to the current law (after 11 years) will have their mandatory retirement at age 65).
The draft law aims to expand the umbrella of social protection by making it mandatory to include new categories that align with new work patterns and also voluntary affiliation.
Salaries for previous retirees will also be increased so that their minimum limit is not less than 200 dinars, exceeding the salary values they were receiving during their employment, noting that approximately 20,000 citizens with low retirement salaries will benefit from this increase.
The amendments stipulate that establishments be governed by the provisions of the law from the date they apply for inclusion, regardless of the date they commenced operations, in order to alleviate the financial burdens on economic activities, and establishments employing five or fewer workers, which are not covered by the law, will be allowed to include them in work injury and maternity insurance for a period of one year; this contributes to reducing the contributions required from them and their workers to 2.75% instead of 21.75%.
A maximum of 1% of the surplus of annual work injury insurance contributions will also be allocated for the establishment of specialized programs in occupational safety and health.
The amendments allow an insured person who is injured to submit a "relapse" request within two years from the date his health condition stabilizes instead of one year, with the possibility of reconsidering the disability percentage and his renewed need for medical care. They also allow an insured person working in the private sector to request a review by the medical committees in the institution while he is at his job; to determine whether total or partial disability applies to his condition, after previously only being evaluated for total disability.
The amendments will also increase the penalty rate on establishments that do not comply with including their employees under the provisions of the law, or those that pay contributions based on non-genuine wages, to become 100% instead of 30%, with giving establishments a period to rectify their status without any penalties until the end of 2026.
The draft law sets the early retirement age for workers in hazardous occupations at 50 years with 300 contributions, of which at least 120 contributions in hazardous occupations within the last 132 contributions. It also ensures that workers in hazardous occupations who meet the age and number of necessary contributions requirements for retirement before 1/1/2027, maintain their rights to retire whenever they wish.
Every Jordanian who does not meet any of the retirement conditions can apply for a lump-sum compensation, while foreigners are entitled to apply for a lump-sum compensation whether they meet any of the retirement conditions or not.
According to the amendments, penalties will be tightened for those who provide false information in bad faith to obtain benefits for themselves or others from the institution without rightful cause, or to evade the institution's rights, where the penalty shall not be less than 3,000 dinars and not more than 5,000 dinars.
