Civil retirement law back to Lower House over ministers’ eligibility for pension

AMMAN — Senators rejected on Tuesday MPs’ amendments to the 2018 civil retirement law under which ministers’ entitlement to a lifetime pension is linked to at least 10 years of public service 

The Senate insisted on the government’s version of the law that stipulates a seven-year public service as the qualifying period for ministers to receive a pension, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Under the current law, they receive a lifetime pension regardless of the period of service, a privilege that has been a source of bitter public criticism at a time when the government has been complaining of meagre resources. Minister of Finance Ezzedine Kanakrieh has recently said that the value of ministers’ annual pensions amount to around JD10 million.

During a discussion of the 2018 amendments to the Civil Retirement Law with the House’s Legal Committee, Kanakrieh said that there are a total of 388 retired ministers and prime ministers receiving pensions.

He also said that the value of annual pensions of all public service retirees amounts to JD1.33 billion.

The Upper House also rejected an article added by MPs that bans the re-appointment of those who were diagnosed with sever or full incapacity to work, arguing that such amendment is unconstitutional for adding a new provision that does fall under the goals of law that regulates retirement and not appointment. They also said that MPs’ wording of the bill   could deprive a large group of army pensioners from reappointment.

The civil retirement draft law organises issues related to the retirement of executive and judicial authorities, in a way that addresses shortcomings that resulted from recurrent amendments to the bill.