The current government, just like prior governments, has continued trying to postpone the problem of social security instead of fundamentally addressing it. The direct responsibility lies on the shoulders of the government; it is accountable for its decisions and cannot eschew the consequences of situations and decisions caused by former governments.
The amendments to the social security law are completely rejected, not only because they reduce the rights of workers and employees, but because they are merely an attempt to shift the crisis from 2036 to 2066. Thus, future governments will find themselves facing the same problem after thirty years, leading to yet another amendment of the law, and possibly raising the retirement age to 80 or even 90.
Oh distinguished Prime Minister,
and our esteemed government,
This is not how issues should be addressed, nor how crises should be resolved. Instead of passing the consequences of previous decisions onto citizens, it is essential to deeply study the causes of the problem and carefully analyze the effects of previous decisions to find sustainable and fundamental solutions.
It is noteworthy that the social security contribution rates are among the highest among Arab countries, as are the retirement conditions compared to others in the region.
Therefore, addressing this problem without compromising the rights of citizens and ensuring the protection of their interests can be achieved through a set of measures, most notably:
1- Increasing the contribution rate for current subscribers by 1% to bring the total rate to 22.75%.
2- Increasing the contribution rate for new subscribers by 2% to make the total rate 23.75%.
3- Setting a maximum retirement salary ranging between 2500 and 3000 dinars.
4- Reducing the investment percentage in bonds to less than 25% instead of the current rate which is about 55%.
5- Reducing operational expenses and limiting the high salaries paid at the Social Security Corporation.
6- Setting a maximum salary limit, as the salary structure in Jordan in general, and in the Social Security Corporation in particular, suffers from clear deformations and large gaps between salaries in the lower and upper tiers. This calls for a comprehensive scientific and economic study to restructure the salary scale to achieve job equity, reduce these large disparities, and align with the economic reality and income levels in the kingdom.
Adopting such measures could help achieve a balance between the sustainability of the social security fund on one hand, and protecting the rights of the subscribers and pensioners on the other, which is a goal that any true reform policy should strive for.
