A pensioner who was considered dead by the Public Pension Agency (PPA) and had his pension canceled in January, is very much alive and has now called on the authorities to pay him his monthly retirement benefit. Jamman Al-Thubyani, 60, said he did not know on what grounds the PPA had made its decision to pronounce him dead. “There is no official proof whatsoever that I am dead and for them to strip me of my monthly retirement benefits,” he said. “I'm here.” At his first attempt to withdraw his monthly pay from an ATM machine in Al-Lith, 180 km southwest of Jeddah, his transaction was not processed. Further unsuccessful attempts at other machines led the retiree to his local bank to inquire about the situation. The bank told him that he was no longer on the pension payroll, without offering any further explanation. Al-Thubyani went to the pension's office in Baha to investigate and to his surprise was told that there had been a mix-up and that he had been confused with a deceased pensioner. “It was a technical problem,” said an official at the pension's office in Baha. The case was referred to the main pension's office in Riyadh to correct the situation. The official, however, said he was unable to say when the man could start receiving his monthly pay. Al-Thubyani said he had spent much time and money to get his problem fixed and does not know who is going to reimburse him for all his efforts. “It wasn't my mistake after all,” he said.
