Title: Government Advances Strategic Plan to Settle Debts and Secure Social Welfare for Retirees
In a significant move to ensure the long-term stability of Iran’s social welfare system, the government is implementing a multi-faceted financial strategy to settle its substantial debt to the Social Security Organization.
A Legacy Debt and Budgetary Allocations
The government’s outstanding debt to the Social Security Organization is approximately 500 hamt (a unit of currency). In line with fiscal planning, portions of this debt have been allocated for repayment in the annual national budgets. For the previous year, 130 hamt was approved, followed by an allocation of 200 hamt in the current year’s budget.
An Innovative Settlement Mechanism
The budget law for the current year initially mandated the transfer of government-owned real estate, valued at 250 thousand billion tomans, to the Social Security Organization. However, citing the current challenges of liquidating such a large volume of property, officials from the Organization proposed a more flexible solution. Their recommendation involved settling the debt through a combination of securities, shares in state-owned companies, and the remaining balance in real estate.
Acting within the legal framework, the Plan and Budget Organization presented a proposal to the heads of the three branches of government. This plan involves converting a portion of the government’s real estate assets into tradable bonds, which would then be transferred to the Social Security Organization.
A Cascading Benefit for the Healthcare Sector
This innovative mechanism offers a secondary benefit. The Social Security Organization can then use these newly acquired bonds to settle its own outstanding obligations to private medical centers, the Ministry of Health, and other contracted service providers. This creates a chain of debt resolution, simultaneously addressing the government’s liability to the Social Security Organization and the Organization’s liabilities to vital healthcare providers.
A Cornerstone of Economic and Social Stability
The timely settlement of this government debt is not merely a legal obligation but a critical economic and social necessity. The accumulated debt places significant financial pressure on the social insurance funds, potentially disrupting the timely payment of pensions and the fulfillment of healthcare commitments to retirees.
Furthermore, this situation hampers the Organization’s ability to invest and implement developmental projects, ultimately weakening the purchasing power of millions of pensioners. Resolving this debt is therefore essential for bolstering public confidence and enhancing the financial sustainability of the national social welfare fund, ensuring its continued support for future generations.