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Social insurance schemes in the Gulf countries
Author(s) -
Mohammed Zakariya Sultan
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international social security review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.349
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1468-246X
pISSN - 0020-871X
DOI - 10.1111/1468-246x.00144
Subject(s) - generosity , argument (complex analysis) , social insurance , developed country , economics , raising (metalworking) , population ageing , population , business , development economics , public economics , actuarial science , political science , market economy , law , biochemistry , chemistry , demography , sociology , geometry , mathematics
Being economically well established, the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have unique social insurance schemes. Based on the defined benefit principle, they have succeeded in creating large reserves, which are managed and invested independently by the social insurance institutions. However, the schemes are facing a continuous escalation in their costs, due to their generosity rather than the population ageing observed in industrialized countries. This trend may well support the argument that the schemes in the region can cope with conventional reforms like increasing contribution rates, raising retirement age and restricting early retirement, rather than switching to a defined contribution system.