Saudi retirees said the recommended increase in their monthly minimum pension from the current SR1,825 to SR3,000 and the proposed grant of full medical insurance cover are not enough to meet the increasing cost of living. Najeeb Abdulrahman Al-Zamil, a member of the Shoura Council, said there is strong sentiment among the members of the Council to pass the twin measures when the Council finally deliberates them on Sunday. “I think that for sure the Council will approve these incentives for our retirees and pensioners by a two-thirds vote,” he told Saudi Gazette. After the Shoura approval, the recommendations will go to the Council of Ministers for endorsement and then to the King who will finally issue a decree approving them. Besides increasing the monthly pension to SR3,000 and granting the medical insurance cover, the Shoura Council will also deliberate a proposal to set aside nine percent of the annual earnings of the Saudi Public Pension Agency for retirees. Bidah Al-Qahtani, board member of the Saudi Retirees Association (SRA) and former president of the Eastern Province Retirees Association, said the proposed increase in the minimum monthly pension and the granting of the mandatory medical insurance benefit, if implemented, though not significant, will improve the living standards of retirees. “We at SRA have been waiting for years for these opportunities,” Al-Qahtani said. Some retirees, however, are not satisfied with the recommended SR3,000 monthly pension proposal. “The SR3,000 monthly pension will not ease the difficulties faced by retirees,” said Abdullah Mufareh Al-Qahtani, a member of the Tourism and Retirees Committees at the Asharqia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a retired military general. “Many years ago, we fought for the SR3,000; five years ago, we retirees demanded SR4,000, and now, because of the increasing cost of living, we retirees actually need an SR8,000 monthly pension to survive,” Al-Qahtani said. There are more than 600,000 retirees and pensioners and some 800,000 widows and children of retirees who will benefit from the increase in the monthly pension and the medical program. “This government support may not be sufficient to meet the current needs of the estimated 1.4 million retirees and widows who are in dire need of help,” said Al-Qahtani. He said the SRA will continue to demand more support programs for retirees. __
