November 2023

Parliament rejects move to reinstate pensions for MPs: Bahrain

A MOVE to reinstate lifetime pensions for elected and appointed public representatives has been shot down. Of the 31 MPs present in Parliament during its weekly session yesterday, 26 voted against reinstating the 2009 MPs, Shura Council and Municipal Council Members’ Pension Law, four abstained and only Jalal Khadim endorsed the proposal. Under the rejected legislation, public representatives would have be entitled to annual increases in pensions similar to others in the private, government and military sectors. The legislation also sought to...

April 2022

Bahrain’s SIO announces 6% retroactive pension rise deposited

Bahrain - Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) CEO Eman Mustafa Al Murbati announced that a six per cent retroactive pension increase of retirees from January 2021 to April 2022 have been deposited in their accounts, as per the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The directives align with reforms to the retirement and social insurance pensions. The CEO expressed her gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad for ratifying and promulgating Law No....

October 2021

Bahrain’s MPs urged to fast-track pensions debate

Pensioners are demanding that Bahrain’s MPs fast-track a government bill granting a three per cent increment to them, starting this year. Many of the pensioners, interviewed by our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej, have expressed their dismay at the delay in the discussion of a draft law on pension funds referred by the government to the council in March. The law includes granting pensioners an annual increment of 3pc beginning from this year. Postponements and procrastination rob pensioners of the badly-needed increment,...

December 2020

Bahrain chosen to launch global OECD Pensions Report for MENA region

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will be launching its seminal OECD Pensions Outlook Report 2020 in the MENA region for the first time, from the Kingdom of Bahrain. Read also South Africa. 1 600 municipal employees’ pensions have lapsed due to ‘non-payment of pension fund contributions’ The global organization which celebrates its 60th anniversary this week is considered to be the world’s largest think-tank and research centre on pensions. Last week, the OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, virtually launched...

August 2020

Call for urgent reforms to pension funds in Bahrain

The pension funds need to undergo urgent reforms in order to be saved before it’s too late. Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) chief executive Eman Al Murbati gave a presentation on the future of pension funds. Read also Switzerland. Pension reform initiative runs out of steam at early stage She was speaking at an event hosted by the National Communication Centre (NCC) as part of their ‘Conversations with a Government Official’ series. Read also Thai Airways must pay B5.4bn in pensions Ms...

February 2019

Bahrain launches fintech talent programme

Bahrain FinTech Bay and the Labour Fund “Tamkeen” announced in a press conference yesterday the launch of its FinTech Talent Program focused on the training and development of Bahrainis and is the first and only of its kind in the Middle East. The inaugural FinTech Talent Program (FTP), supported by the Tamkeen ‘Labor Fund’, has been developed in partnership with global experts in finance and technology, including Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business- and international blockchain and artificial intelligence academies....

October 2018

Manama to host 3rd MENA Pensions Conference next week

What is the prevailing situation of pension globally and patterns of evolution in this vital sector? Are actuarial deficits in pension funds (globally) real or inflated, and how should they be understood? Can financial markets be a complementary alternative through meaningful pension products, and how should they be designed? Does the current legislation of financial regulators contribute to a flourishing pension industry? What are the best assets and asset allocations for pension investments? What is the digital ecosystem “Fintech”...

Bahrain. Finance Minister stresses pension fund sustainability

Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa has hailed the parliamentary approval of law decree 45 of 2018 on setting pension of ministers and fixing the pension bonuses allocated for members of the Shura Council, the Council of Representatives and the municipal councils. “The move is part of the measures which aim at consolidating the sustainability of the pension funds for the sake of citizens”, he said, stressing the importance of preserving the stability, efficiency, and durability of the...