Khaberni - The former General Manager of the Social Security Corporation, Hazem Rahahleh, stated that he received an invitation from the head of the Parliamentary Labor Committee, MP Andre Hawari, to participate in a dialogue session to discuss the draft amendment to the Social Security Law, in the presence of former Ministers of Labor and former General Managers of the Corporation.
He added that this step reflects an openness to opinions and experiences, noting that after reviewing excerpts from previous sessions, he found that the meetings were closer to "listening" sessions than "dialogue", which prompted him to provide the committee with written framework notes before the meeting date, aiming to use the committee's time more effectively and to better document the proposed suggestions.
Rahahleh also clarified that the committee was provided with the most significant amendments included in the 2022 amendment project, which was the result of extensive national dialogue led by the institution involving multiple expertises.
He mentioned that he deemed it appropriate to share the notes that were sent to the chairman of the Labor Committee and its members before the session convened.
And the text of the proposal follows:
His Excellency the honorable deputy Andre Hawari contacted me, thankfully, and invited me to participate in a dialogue session held by the Parliamentary Labor Committee to discuss the draft amendment to the Social Security Law, in the presence of former Ministers of Labor and former General Managers of the institution. This step is highly appreciated for its reflection of openness to opinions and expertise.
After reviewing excerpts from previous sessions, I concluded that these meetings seem closer to "listening" Public Hearing rather than "dialogue" Public Dialogue, and hence, for this and other considerations, I deemed it appropriate to provide the committee with written framework notes before the meeting, as they are more effective in using the committee's time and better documenting the ideas and proposals presented. The committee was also provided with the most significant amendments included in the 2022 draft law.
In the year 2022, a comprehensive package of amendments was reached, the result of an extensive national dialogue led by the institution, participated by a group of colleagues who were not influenced by any personal considerations or interests, and who still maintain the same approach to this day.
From this standpoint, I saw it appropriate to share the notes that were sent to the chairman of the Labor Committee and its respected members before the session convened, and this has indeed been done.
Notes on the amended draft of the Social Security Law
His Excellency the chairman of the Labor Committee / Mr. Andre Hawari
- First, it is imperative to commend the government's approach and its intervention to address a significant aspect of the structural imbalances suffered by the Social Security Law, imbalances that are structural issues experienced by most social security systems around the world, which were milder and less impactful in countries that initiated the necessary reforms earlier, with consideration of the economic and social dimensions in their design.
I also extend my sincere thanks to the chairman of the committee and its members for initiating the national dialogue, and for the efforts made to refine the proposed amendments. We hope that these efforts will lead to the formulation of a balanced package of amendments that enhance the sustainability of the social security system and achieve fairness among the various concerned groups.
- As you know, the Social Security Corporation had previously taken practical steps to address some of the inherent imbalances in its law, the most prominent and widespread of which were the reforms included in the temporary law of 2010, which also introduced two important insurances, maternity and unemployment insurance, which now play a significant role on both the economic and social levels.
- In 2014, a new Social Security Law was enacted to replace the temporary law of 2010, yet it included legal and organizational arrangements that significantly limited the scope of the reforms brought by the temporary law.
- In 2019, amendments were made to the law, the most notable of which was raising the minimum early retirement age to 55 years for men with a discount factor (22%), and 52 years for women with a discount factor (25%), for new contributors as of November 2019, with the aim of improving the financial status of the system.
- In light of the findings of the tenth actuarial study, which indicated further points of equilibrium than those concluded by the eleventh study, a comprehensive national dialogue was launched on the proposed amendments to the law, which lasted about a year, and resulted in a comprehensive set of reforms approved by the board of directors and submitted to the cabinet, which at the time decided not to proceed with them due to the lack of urgent need at the time. Had these amendments been approved then, we would not need this new round of reforms today.
- The proposed amendments in 2022 were based on several basic considerations, notably addressing the imbalances related to early retirement and wage growth patterns before retirement, which have a direct impact on the sustainability of the insurance system, in addition to gradually raising the retirement age, and addressing some legal aspects related to insurance protection, such as redistributing retirement salaries and the minimum salaries.
- The most important starting point in these amendments is not to harm the rights of subscribers approaching retirement, where the definition of this group was expanded to include subscribers whose subscription period exceeds seven years until the end of 2022, reflecting the importance of maintaining social stability and enhancing confidence in the institution and its reform approach.
In line with the foregoing, I hereby present a number of framework notes on the amended draft law:
_ Approach to applying the amendments
To avoid harming retirement plans, and to allow sufficient time to develop the legislative and regulatory environment supporting them, it is proposed to limit the application of the amendments related to retirement age to subscribers far from qualifying for retirement according to the current law, to include subscribers whose subscription periods are less than (120) subscriptions until the end of 2026. It might also be considered ...
