GPSSA Sets Criteria for Emiratis to Benefit from Shourak Program

The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) has outlined five criteria for insured Emiratis to benefit from the Shourak programme, which was introduced last year to improve the quality of life and financial stability of insured individuals working in UAE-based federal, government, and private sector entities.

Shourak allows insured Emiratis to merge their employment years when changing entities without incurring additional fees, provided they opt not to receive the end-of-service gratuity to complete the eligible pension period.

• Criterion 1: Eligibility for Shourak hinges on whether the insured's employment ended before or after July 1, 2023, the date of Shourak's introduction. Only those whose employment ceased on or after this date qualify.
• Criterion 2: To be eligible, an employee must have worked for at least one year, as those with less than a year's service are ineligible.
• Criterion 3: Eligibility requires the employee to have worked with entities affiliated with GPSSA; periods of employment with other pension funds or authorities are not covered by Shourak.
• Criterion 4: The insured must join a new entity within six months of leaving the previous one to be eligible.
• Criterion 5: To merge employment periods, the insured must request it within three months of joining the new entity; service periods are not merged automatically.

Since the implementation of Shourak on 1st July 2023, the GPSSA has received 5,198 end-of-service gratuity cases. However, only 1,685 insured members have been able to benefit from the programme, meeting the criteria of having their employment service end after Shourak's introduction and opting to merge their previous and subsequent employment service years to maintain continuity.

News Source: Emirates News Agency