KD 3,000 grant to pensioners in limbo after govt-Assembly row

KD 3,000 grant to pensioners in limbo after govt-Assembly row

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The KD 3,000 grant to pensioners, announced by the government this week, appears to be in doubt after disagreements between MPs and the government regarding a draft law to amend pension legislation. During a special Assembly session yesterday, the government included the grant, covering some 200,000 pensioners and costing KD 589 million, in amendments to the pensions agency law, which called for raising the retirement age by three years.

MPs rejected the amendment and following several hours of debate, they passed a recommendation calling on the government to separate the grant from the legislative amendments. The government is unlikely to accept this recommendation, which threatens the grant. The move came following heated debate between MPs and the government, which wanted to raise the retirement age to 65 for men in exchange for the grant. Under the proposed amendments, the government also pledged to increase pensions by KD 20 every year. The Assembly decided to send those amendments back to the concerned parliamentary committees to discuss them.

During the debate in the special session, MPs proposed that the KD 3,000 grant for pensioners be made annually, while some lawmakers said the amount is too small considering the huge profits posted by