KRG Council of Ministers discuss pension laws
At the outset of the meeting, Awat Janab Noori, the Minister of Finance and Economy, presented a detailed report on equalizing pensioners' salaries in the Kurdistan Region with those of their counterparts in the Iraqi government.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers. Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani was also in attendance.
At the outset of the meeting, Awat Janab Noori, the Minister of Finance and Economy, presented a detailed report on equalizing pensioners' salaries in the Kurdistan Region with those of their counterparts in the Iraqi government. Following this, KRG Cabinet Secretary Amanj Raheem and Abdul Hakim Khasraw, Director of the Department of Coordination and Follow-Up, provided comprehensive explanations.
Raheem elaborated on the discrepancies between the two pension laws: Regional Law No. 27 of 2006 and Federal Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014. He emphasized that the 2014 law benefits pensioners by offering higher minimum pensions and additional allowances. Specifically, the minimum pension in the Kurdistan Region is lower than in other parts of Iraq. Iraqi pensioners receive a subsistence allowance of 100,000 dinars monthly on top of their federal salaries, which are based on the total last pay and allowances rather than just the basic pay.
The Cabinet approved the Ministry of Finance and Economy's proposal, alongside the recommendation of the joint audit team from the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region audit bureaus, to unify pension law across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, to benefit all pensioners.
Subsequently, the discussion shifted to the sixth month's salary of the Kurdistan Region civil servants and the fifth and sixth month's salaries of the Peshmerga and security forces. The latest developments in the audit and review of the Peshmerga salary lists were also reviewed.
On behalf of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister welcomed the President of the Federal Supreme Court's clarification regarding the banking process for the salaries of the Kurdistan Region in state banks and other banks authorized by the Central Bank of Iraq. The Council urged those who have not yet completed the banking process under the MyAccount initiative to register promptly to ensure all civil servants are enrolled by the end of the year as planned.
