Engineers syndicate says pension fund 'a success'

AMMAN — The Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) pension fund is a success that must be defended against any rumours, JEA President Majid Tabaa told reporters on Tuesday. 

Tabaa said the fund is not facing financial problems, noting that actuarial studies are conducted by any fund to protect its financial status and rate its performance. 

The recent seventh actuarial study did not bring any surprises and was compatible with previous ones, showing no risk, he said.

Factors taken into consideration in the actuarial study include the increase in the number of JEA members, which stood at 130,000 by the end of 2015 compared to only 40,000 in 2000, according to Tabaa.

Other factors include the increase of female members, who now constitute 25 per cent, according to the seventh study. Women's retirement age is 55, whereas men's retirement age is 60. 

The JEA Council formed a committee to study the recommendations of the study and then presented a proposal that it discussed with nearly 1,200 people from the association before showcasing it to the JEA's general assembly.

The proposal aims at pushing the second and third break-even points from 2019 to 2035 and from 2028 to 2046 respectively to strengthen the fund even more, Tabaa said.

He noted that the JEA Council can only propose but the general assembly is the one with the final decision to accept or reject the proposal. 

The proposal calls for gradually raising fund subscription fees as of 2018 and over a three-year period. No measures will be taken to raise the pension age.

Some JEA members have previously accused the association of investing the fund's resources in "losing projects" and expressed their rejection of any move to raise the retirement age.

"The fund has paid JD158 million in pensions and administrative spending since its establishment until now," Tabaa said, adding that "this value was replenished through revenues by the end of 2014, so what the engineers pay as membership fees is still in the fund, and we indeed have a book value of around JD220 million and a market value of around JD330 million".

Tabaa noted that investments in industry, education and real estate development are part of the JEA's national duty to take part in the Kingdom's different investments. 

Even if the subscription fee is raised, it will still be less than that of similar funds, reaching only 12 per cent of the salary, he said.