RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has approved the recommendation by the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) to pay the two-month bonus to Saudi pensioners of the social insurance system.
Labor Minister Adel Fakieh, who is chairman of GOSI, made the announcement on Monday. He thanked King Abdullah for the gesture. The decision would benefit more than 264,000 pensioners across the country with GOSI spending SR1.46 billion on them.
GOSI Governor Soleiman Al-Humaid said his organization has begun taking the necessary measures to pay the bonus. He said the royal gesture would cover the retirees as well as the heirs of pensioners who have passed away.
"The bonus will be distributed within the next few days through the bank accounts of pensioners," Al-Humaid said. The decision came after many pensioners requested the king to include them in the bonus payment.
Last year the government announced a five percent inflation allowance for social insurance pensioners for three years. In accordance with the Cabinet decision, the pensioners will get an allowance of five percent in the first year, 10 percent in the second year and 15 percent in the third year.
The allowance would be calculated on the basis of a maximum of the first SR25,000 of pensions and earnings. About 30 percent of pensioners in the Kingdom receive less than SR2,000 per month, while 64 percent receive less than SR4,000.
© Arab News 2011
