Title: Landmark Reforms Proposed for Iran’s Social Security System
In a significant move to bolster Iran’s social welfare framework, the country’s Social Security Organization has presented a comprehensive package of seven key reforms to the parliamentary Social Commission. These proposals, announced in a high-level meeting attended by the organization’s CEO, are designed to enhance pensioner benefits, expand insurance coverage, and ensure the long-term financial stability of the system.
A Strategic Overhaul for Stability and Equity
The proposed amendments are part of a broader strategic effort to modernize the social security system. The core objectives are to safeguard the organization’s financial resources, improve pensioners’ livelihoods, and streamline access to social security services for all segments of the population. The CEO of the Social Security Organization emphasized that these reforms, to be implemented in the coming years, will realign the organization with its core legal mandates and prevent resource wastage.
Key Pillars of the Reform Package
The seven central proposals address several critical areas of the social security system:
- Amending Retirement Age Calculations: A shift from a system based solely on age and total service years to one that incorporates job classification, particularly for hazardous and demanding professions. This aims to create a fairer and more precise method for determining pension rights.
- Reintegrating the Workers’ Welfare Bank: A proposal to fully return the shares of the Workers’ Welfare Bank to the Social Security Organization, strengthening its financial arm and facilitating payments and services for pensioners.
- Settling Government Debts: A mechanism to settle government debts to the organization through cash, bonds, shares, and assets, thereby securing its financial resources.
- Expanding Insurance Coverage: Extending social security coverage to a larger number of workers, including weavers and handicraft artists, by revising the contribution shares of employers and the insured.
- Streamlining Financial Transactions with Banks: Authorizing banks to exchange shares or assets under the organization’s control for debts, simplifying financial operations.
- Regulating Obligations: Reforming procedures to prevent unnecessary expenditures and guarantee the organization’s resources are used effectively.
- Revising Article 86: Proposing changes related to hazardous jobs, including determining work difficulty percentages and establishing a formal job classification system.
Direct Impact on Pensioners and Workers
The most notable changes for citizens involve retirement age and benefits. The new calculation method will factor in the rank and difficulty of a person’s profession, leading to more accurate pension determinations and reducing disparities between retirees with different work histories.
Furthermore, the expansion of insurance coverage means that previously uninsured groups, such as certain weavers and artisans, will now have access to full medical, pension, and social support services.
A Secure Financial Future
The return of the Workers’ Welfare Bank is highlighted as a crucial step for financial health. With 100% ownership, the bank will act as a powerful financial tool for the organization, with its profits and resources directly supporting pension payments and benefits.
Officials project that these reforms will create a more transparent and predictable path to retirement, optimize resource management, and ultimately allow pensioners to plan their financial futures with greater confidence. This overhaul is positioned as a major step towards enhancing justice, transparency, and the long-term sustainability of Iran’s social security system.