Experts have predicted that the decision to merge Saudi Arabia’s Public Pension Agency (PPA) into the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) will reinforce benefits and programs offered to workers in the Kingdom.
The move is set to boost investment returns, reduce costs and help with their diversification, said Finance Minister and GOSI Chairman Mohammed Al-Jadaan in a statement.
Al-Jadaan said that the Kingdom’s fiscal policy aims to strike a balance between maintaining fiscal sustainability and enhancing economic growth and development, while also supporting economic transformation in line with the national vision for transformation, Kingdom Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia is moving ahead by striving to increase efficiency and effectiveness within the framework of fiscal discipline, improving the basic services provided to citizens, diversifying government revenue sources and empowering the private sector.
Moreover, Al-Jadaan reviewed the merger as an administrative-organizational process that works to unify the insurance protection umbrella for employees of both the public and private sectors.
It will also contribute to eliminating overlap in similar specializations, achieving optimal utilization of resources, increasing operational and financial efficiency and improving services provided to clients.
This confirms the Saudi leadership’s interest in developing the social insurance sector as one of the key pillars that play an important role in the life of individuals, families and society in general.
Social insurance in the Kingdom reflects a symbiotic system that primarily works to enhance social protection.
“The decision will have a significant positive impact on the economic and social level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Ibrahim Al-Omar, a Saudi academic and consultancy supervisor, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“One of the immediate fruits of the merger will be building the largest investment portfolio, amounting to SAR 100 billion ($26.6 billion),” he said, explaining that it will positively impact financial markets in the Kingdom.
