Most Saudi retirees who are receiving meager monthly pensions, mostly below SR3,000, are facing difficulties in meeting the spiraling costs of living, according to an official of the Eastern Province Retirees Association. A big percentage of retirees in the Kingdom receives only SR2,000 pension per month. “Particularly this Ramadan, many of our retirees are barely coping in satisfying their basic subsistence, such as food, due to the increasing cost of basic commodities and services. This is indeed very sad,” said Bidah Al-Gahtani, immediate past president of the Eastern Province Retirees Association. He said many retirees, particularly those in the private sector, are also not getting proper medical care because their monthly pension is not enough to bear the cost of medicines and medical services. Gahtani said the National Association of Retirees has been fighting for an increase in the minimum level of pension to SR3,000, but this amount is no longer commensurate with the continuing increase in the cost of living. “We have abandoned the minimum pension of SR3,000 we have been requesting because we know this is no longer enough. What we are fighting for now is for the government to increase the minimum pension to a reasonable level to enable our pensioners to meet the market costs so that they can live a decent subsistence,” Gahtani said. In Eastern Province, the number of retirees, including women, is placed at around 3,000. Kingdom-wide, because of the lack of data base, it is estimated that there are around 600,000 male and female retirees, 75 percent of them retiring from government service. Retirees in Eastern Province are planning to have their annual meeting this October at the Asharqia Chamber to discuss and present once again the pressing issues facing retirees. “We will again voice our major concerns, particularly the amount of monthly pension, in addition to the issue of reduced costs in medical services,” Gahtani said. __
