Khaberni - The spokesperson for the Social Security Corporation, Shaman Al-Majali, said on Wednesday that the military personnel are not included in the new amendments to the Social Security Law.
He detailed the categories exempted from the conditions of eligibility for early retirement salary according to the new amendments, which include anyone who reaches the age of fifty before January 1, 2027, and has 21 years of subscription for males, and 19 years of subscription for females, indicating that the subscriber will retain the right to early retirement even if they continue working.
Al-Majali noted that anyone with 300 subscriptions in social security and has reached the age of 45 years, is entitled to early retirement whenever they wish, even after the law takes effect.
He added that the exempted categories include workers in hazardous professions who have reached the age of 45 before January 1, 2027, and have 18 years of social security subscription, including 60 subscriptions during the last 10 years in hazardous professions, as well as females who have completed 15 years of subscription under the same conditions and have reached the age of 45 before the specified date.
Al-Majali explained that all these categories will remain subject to the current social security law, and the new amendments specific to early retirement do not apply to them.
The government approved on Tuesday the justification for a draft amendment law to the Social Security Law for the year 2026, with the aim of enhancing and expanding the social protection system to include new categories, ensuring a balance between the rights of the insured, and enhancing the sustainability of the insurance system.
The draft law also aims to enhance the autonomy of the Social Security Corporation and the governance of decision-making mechanisms within it, as it will be structurally restructured and its model developed to mirror that of the central bank, whereby a governor for the corporation will be appointed by a decision from the Council of Ministers, associated with the Royal Will, with a clear definition of his duties and powers within the provisions of the law, which means that a minister in the government will not chair the corporation’s board of directors.
The draft law regulates retirement conditions, where obligatory retirement is the norm and early retirement is the exception; this is to achieve sustainability of the insurance system and preserve the rights of the insured.
According to the amendments, anyone who meets the conditions for early retirement salary before January 1, 2027, is entitled to retire whenever they wish, even after the provisions of the amended law take effect, and anyone who meets the conditions for obligatory retirement (age) by reaching age 60 for males and age 55 for females, and has completed 180 subscriptions before January 1, 2028, is entitled to retire according to the provisions of the current law.
The number of subscriptions required for the entitlement to early retirement salary, according to the amendments, will be 360 subscriptions, regardless of the insured person's age at the time of application, while the number of subscriptions required for the entitlement to obligatory retirement (age) will be 240 subscriptions instead of 180, starting from January 1, 2028.
There will also be a gradual approach to raising the age of retirement, by six months annually, to a maximum limit of 65 years for males and 60 years for females, this graduation will start from January 1, 2028, and thus the age of obligatory retirement "age" will practically not increase by more than one year for those who have 4-5 years left until retirement, while those who are currently expected to retire in 2037 according to the current law (after 11 years) will have their obligatory retirement at the age of 65).
The draft law aims to expand the umbrella of social protection through the mandatory inclusion of new categories that are consistent with new work patterns and forms, as well as optional affiliation.
The low salaries of previous retirees will also be increased so that their minimum limit does not fall below 200 dinars, exceeding the values of their salaries that they were receiving during their employment, with approximately 20,000 citizens benefiting from this increase from the owners of low retirement salaries.
The amendments stipulate that establishments be covered by the provisions of the law from the date they apply for inclusion, regardless of the date they started operations, with the aim of reducing financial burdens on economic activities. Establishments not covered under the law, employing five or fewer workers, will be allowed to include themselves under work injury and maternity insurance for one year; this will contribute to lowering the required subscriptions from them and from their employees to 2.75% instead of 21.75%.
Up to 1% of the annual surplus of work injury insurance subscriptions will be allocated to create specialized programs in occupational safety and health.
The amendments allow the insured who is injured to submit a "setback" request within two years from the date his health condition stabilizes instead of one year, with the possibility of re-evaluating the degree of disability and his need for medical care again. They also allow the insured working in the private sector to request to be examined by medical committees in the institution while they are still employed; to determine the extent of total or partial disability on their case, whereas previously they were only examined for total disability.
As per the amendments, the penalty rate will be increased for establishments that fail to include their employees under the law, or those that pay subscriptions based on inaccurate wages, to become 100% instead of 30%, with a period for establishments to rectify their situations without any penalties until the end of 2026.
The draft law sets the early retirement age for workers in hazardous professions at 50 years with 300 subscriptions, at least 120 of which must be in hazardous professions within the last 132 subscriptions. The draft law also ensures that workers in hazardous professions who meet the age and subscription requirements necessary for retirement before January 1, 2027, preserve their rights to retire whenever they wish.
Any Jordanian who does not meet any of the retirement conditions may apply for a one-time compensation, while foreigners are entitled to apply for a one-time compensation whether they meet any of the retirement conditions or not.
According to the amendments, penalties will be intensified for those who provide inaccurate statements with malicious intent to obtain benefits for themselves or others from the institution unjustifiably, or evade the institution's rights, with the penalty not being less than 3,000 dinars and not exceeding 5,000 dinars.
