Yesterday, the Jordanian Transparency Center held a meeting to discuss the draft of the amended social security law.  The meeting, titled “Social Security is Reality and Hope”, was held in the in the Social Security Corporation’s building, attended by the head and members of the center and many economic, legal, and academic figures.
At the beginning of the meeting, the CEO of the Jordan Transparency Center, Hilda Ajeilat, welcomed the attendees and participants and gave a presentation on the role of the center in promoting integrity and combating corruption in Jordan.  She noted that the social security must be designed to protect the interests of Jordanians as it is the only support for workers experiencing the challenges of old age, disability, or loss of work. Ajeilat indicated that this meeting intends to clarify and explain the proposed amendments to the current law.
During the meeting, which was moderated by a member of the Center, Dr. Abdel Salam Al-Awamra, the Foundation’s Director General, Dr. Hazem Al-Awamra, stated that the Foundation prioritizes social protection in the Kingdom and the interests of all the event’s attendees. He indicated that the needs of all stakeholders are taken into account when making policies and strategic plans and that the Foundation listened during its meetings to all the opinions, proposals and observations that were expressed. He also addressed the many civil society organizations that had submitted proposals on ammendments to the law during the 46 dialogue sessions that had been held in all the governorates of the kingdom.
Al-Rahahleh pointed out that the dialogue and discussion conducted by the institution had had positive repercussions on the amended draft law, because through contact with employers, joint workers and retirees, the amendments to the insurance law will achieve greater justice among these groups. He explained that the law will address many of the loopholes that the insurance system suffers from, and stressed that the institution will spare no effort in enhancing social protection for all those under its umbrella.
Al-Rahahleh indicated that the main purpose of the bill to amend the law is to strengthen the social protection system in Jordan, and to provide better protection for the most vulnerable groups, stressing that the amendments that enhance benefits for the insured will be applied immediately upon approval of the law.
He stressed, that the Corporation is financially stable, noting that the Corporation has transferred (300) million dinars in insurance surpluses to the Social Security Investment Fund since the beginning of this year, and that it is conducting an actuarial study to examine its financial position in the medium and long term at least once every three years.
He further indicated that the Corporation completed the tenth actuarial study and concluded there had been positive results, as it indicated an improvement in the break-even point between insurance revenues and expenditures from (2034) in the ninth study to (2039) the tenth. There was also an improvement in the second break-even point, which represents the equality between total revenues and total expenditures from (2041) to (2050), attributed to the Foundation’s efforts to expand coverage and increase the number of subscribers as well as the law amendments in (2019.  A study took to analyze the programs that were launched during the Corona pandemic, and despite these positive indicators, future challenges should not be ignored, proactive measures should be taken to keep the institution’s finances in their best condition, and insurance benefits for successive generations should be taken into account.
In turn, the writer and economic analyst Jawad Abbasi praised the proposed amendments to the Security Law, pointing out that it is time to address the distortions that the current law suffers from and to make amendments that address imbalances and protect targeted social programs.
He touched on the Corporation’s investments in government bonds, which are considered one of the most effective investments made by the Insurance Corporation, as these bonds are more secure.  He concluded by commenting on the provision of health insurance to retirees and other insured parties, including cancer patients.

– (Petra)