Bahrain government rejects military retirement law amendment citing financial concerns

TDT | Manama                                                     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Bahrain government has declined a proposal to amend certain provisions of the military retirement law, citing concerns about additional financial burden.

The amendment, rooted in two suggestions from the Council of Representatives, aims to raise the government’s contribution towards pensions from officers’ and personnel’s basic salaries to 21% from 20%.

This would be done by reducing the deduction from officers and personnel to 6% instead of 7%.

The proposed amendment introduced a new Article 22 in the military retirement law issued by Decree-Law No. 11 of 1976, specifying a modest annual increase in pensions according to a provided table.

Rejecting the move, the government said this amendment contradicts the original purpose of the decree law and the retirement and insurance systems of the military retirement law issued by Decree-Law No.11 of 1976.

They also called for a comprehensive study to assess the ability of the government and the military retirement fund to handle the resulting financial burdens. 

Moreover, the government highlighted potential negative impacts on the state’s general budget and financial equilibrium programme.

It argued that implementing the proposed law would require modifying the general budget and necessitating financial support to cover the increased deduction rate and proposed annual pension increase.

The government also highlighted the lack of essential elements in the proposed law, emphasising the need for a financial study before enacting laws requiring financial allocations.

“When preparing a law project belonging to the category of laws that require financial allocations, a financial study must be conducted to determine the amount of these allocations, the resulting financial obligations, the expected source of funding, and the sustainability aspect,” it said.

Furthermore, the government communicated to MPs that there is no urgent social necessity justifying the law’s issuance without a comprehensive study or scientific basis detailing the proposed amendment’s impact on the military retirement fund or retired officers and personnel.