The General Assembly of "Engineers' Retirement" recommends the separation of the union's fund accounts and ratifies the annual report for the year 2025.
Ghousha: Recommendations will be raised to the central authority and proceed through the stages of legal ratification.
Khaberni - The General Assembly of the Engineers' Retirement Fund approved the annual report of the fund's activities for the year 2025, during its regular annual meeting held at the Professional Associations Complex under the chairmanship of the Engineers Union president, Eng. Abdullah Ghousha, with the presence of the delegate for the Minister of Public Works and Housing, Eng. Mona Bilawneh.
The Assembly recommended the cancellation of the mandatory contribution in the fund, reduction in subscription fees for young engineers, and separation of the funds, aiming to alleviate financial burdens on young engineers and improve the status of the Health Insurance Fund.
Eng. Ghousha said that the recommendations of the General Assembly will be raised to the central authority of the union for approval and proceed through the stages of legal ratification.
The annual report for the year 2025 of the Retirement Fund highlighted significant financial challenges facing the fund, notably a funding gap estimated at about 1.6 billion dinars by the end of the year, due to accumulated commitments and extended operational pressures.
The Engineers Union president mentioned in his report that the current stage represents a real test of the institution's ability to deal with a structural financial crisis, requiring a shift from short-term administrative treatments to sustainable reform solutions that address the roots of the problem and ensure the fund's continuity in the medium and long term.
The report pointed out that the union adopted a path that combines financial discipline and operational reform, alongside precise actuarial treatment, within an approach based on transparency and engaging the General Assembly in understanding the financial realities, and expanding dialogue with different groups.
The report further stated that the union took several steps to protect the fund's assets and enhance its sustainability, including financial and administrative separation between the union’s funds, halting the generation of financial obligations between the Retirement Fund and other funds, and freezing bank borrowing to cover retirement salaries.
The initiatives included redirecting the investment portfolio towards more suitable assets, contracting with the Social Security Corporation to prepare the tenth actuarial study, expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, in addition to preparing a comprehensive financial, investment, and actuarial report to identify the funding gap and treatment paths.
In terms of institutional work, the Union Council formed a steering committee for the Retirement Fund comprising 74 members, from which eight specialized working teams emerged, tasked with evaluating real estate assets, attracting investment opportunities, restructuring assets, reviewing the loan portfolio, studying troubled projects, reviewing legislation, conducting actuarial analyses, and enhancing communication with the General Assembly.
According to the report, the action plan for 2026 will continue to focus on financial discipline, controlling cash flows, rationalizing commitments, and initiating union dialogue about the future of the fund in light of the results of the actuarial study, along with preparing comprehensive legislative updates for the union's fund systems.
The plan also includes accelerating the digital transformation of services, enhancing governance and control, increasing transparency and accountability, and developing communication mechanisms with retirees and subscribers to clarify facts and reduce the trust gap.
The Union confirmed during 2026 its commitment to the retirement salary payment policy adopted since May 2025, according to available liquidity management, including paying 25% to non-practicing retirees with deductions for the benefit of the union's funds, paying 50% to beneficiaries (widows and orphans) according to case audits, and paying 90% to retirees due to disability before retirement age according to the system, and allocating salaries for practicing retired engineers according to the amended system of 2023, and disbursing them when liquidity is available.
The report clarified that the 2026 plan represents an institutional reform path that balances rights protection, financial capability, and sustainability, affirming that the outputs of the steering committee are still in the technical work phase and have not reached the ratification stage.
It showed that completing the reform path includes receiving and analyzing the results of the tenth actuarial study, aligning them with the reform plan, subjecting them to independent financial and legal audits, and presenting them to the specialized trade union bodies, in preparation for raising them in their final form to the General Assembly to make a decision.
The Union reaffirmed that the reform of the fund represents a collaborative institutional effort, based on the cooperation of committees and work teams and participation of the General Assembly, aiming to reach balanced solutions that ensure the fund's sustainability and protect subscribers' rights
The General Assembly approved its agenda including the general policy for 2026, reviewed the auditors' report and ratified the closing accounts for the financial year ending on 31 December 2025, approved the fund's budget project for 2026, appointed auditors, discussed listed issues, made appropriate decisions regarding them, and considered proposals submitted by members of the General Assembly as per the protocols.
