1.59 per cent increase for all SSC retirees’ pensions

AMMAN — Director General of the Social Security Corporation (SSC) Ezzedine Kanakrieh on Tuesday announced the increase of all SSC retirees’ pensions by 1.59 per cent as of May 1, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The average increase for all subscribers will be of JD6 per month.

In a press conference, Kanakrieh said that this annual inflation increase is an entitlement, as the 2014 SSC Law, stipulates linking pensions to the annual inflation rate or the increase rate of average pensions with an increase that does not exceed JD20.

The consumer price index (inflation calculator) for 2017 reached 1.6 per cent, he said, noting that the average SSC subscribers’ pension in 2016 was JD503, increasing to JD511 in 2017. 

Some 88,685 alive retirees and 114,299 heirs will benefit from the decision, which comes at a monthly cost of JD837,000 and JD10,044,000 annually.

The annual inflation increase includes salaries of retirees who reached retirement age, who have full and partial disability due to work injury or who passed away. It will include early pensioners once they reach the age of 60 for males and 55 for females, Kanakrieh said.

The number of early retirees who will benefit from the increase will amount to 39,199 people.