Pensions for politicians generate a crisis in the pension fund and threaten to bankrupt it

[size=52]Pensions for politicians generate a crisis in the pension fund and threaten to bankrupt it[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Muhammed Sabah[/size]
[size=45]Referring many politicians and others to retirement without their commitment to pay the monthly pension deductions, led to a state of confusion after these additions caused a significant shortfall in funding the retirement fund and its inability to pay the end of service gratuity for the military category and others.[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry of Finance and the Public Retirement Authority are trying to find a way out for this financial problem, which is now threatening the military retirement fund as a result of those additions that did not comply with the monthly deductions.[/size]
[size=45]Representative Naji Al-Saadi, a member of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives, said in a statement to (Al-Mada) that the reason for the delay in granting the end-of-service gratuity for military retirees is due to the lack of funding and the suffering of the retirement fund, adding that the pension fund is supposed to support the state budget, given that it has its own money. levied by the monthly deductions by the employees.[/size]
[size=45]On the seventh of this June, the Parliamentary Finance Committee hosted the Deputy Chairman of the Public Retirement Authority and a number of retirees from the ranks of the Iraqi army to discuss the issue of delaying the payment of rewards for the end of service and accumulated vacations, and finding treatments.[/size]
[size=45]The Finance Committee stressed during the hosting to end this issue, which affects the lives of members and ranks of the Iraqi army, for the sacrifices they made to this country, noting that the Committee is fully prepared to solve all the problems facing the work of the Retirement Authority and the Ministry of Finance.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Saadi calls on the Retirement Authority to invest the funds of the Fund in order to provide the necessary funds and not rely on the support of the state budget so that it can fulfill its obligations towards its retirees, explaining the reason for his inability to pay the end-of-service gratuity to the addition of multiple segments from which pension rights were not deducted in advance, and thus affected the Fund money.[/size]
[size=45]In turn, the Deputy Chairman of the Retirement Authority explained in his meeting with the Parliamentary Finance Committee that the numbers covered by the cumulative leave are more than the size of the bonus amounts, while the Ministry of Finance confirmed that it relies on the tables submitted by the ministries to their staff in the process of allocating salaries and bonuses, noting the importance of knowing the approved disbursement mechanism In the retirement body, and that it be among the funds allocated for the rewards, and not that it be transferred from other exchange doors.[/size]
[size=45]The representative from Dhi Qar province adds that “there are segments of retirees, such as politicians and others, whose salaries have not been deducted, and therefore the fund bore a large burden outside its control that led to a lack of funding,” underestimating the possibility of declaring the retirement fund bankrupt due to these additions.[/size]
[size=45]He added that his committee is keen to find effective and quick solutions to resolve the file of accrued bonuses and vacations as it affects the lives of an important segment of Iraqi society, provided that this file is completed in the coming days.[/size]
[size=45]He asserts that "the State Employees Pension Fund's monthly deductions are continuing, and the ministries are transferring huge and large sums to this fund," stressing that there are investments for this fund in government banks with certain rates of interest.[/size]
[size=45]The representative of the Sairoon Alliance stresses that “the pension fund needs a discreet financial management that is able to overcome this crisis,” noting that the current administration has plans that can be implemented to overcome this problem.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Faleh Al-Zubaidi, an expert in economic affairs, explained in a statement to (Al-Mada) that Iraq’s economy is rentier, as it is known, depends on the export of oil in order to pay the salaries of employees and retirees, adding that there are “approximately seven and a half million between employees and retirees.”[/size]
[size=45]He shows that "those numbers constitute a heavy burden on the Iraqi state budget, of which more than 40% are allocated to salaries," considering that "this is the result of a major imbalance in the structure of the Iraqi economy, in addition to that the presence of a large number of fictitious retirees has an impact on the fund."[/size]
[size=45]He continues that "the referral of some politicians to retirement also affected the fund, since their allocations are very large compared to other segments," noting that "the large operational budget was taken from the investment budget's share, which was reflected on the investment projects."[/size]
[size=45]He explains that "the greater the size of salaries in the budget, the more it leads to a decrease in the volume of investment in the country, meaning that job opportunities will be few and limited for the category of the unemployed," adding that it is necessary to address double salaries in order to achieve social solidarity among the groups of Iraqi society.[/size]
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