HM King directs government to reconsider retirement, pension bills

Manama, June 21 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa the Prime Minister. His Majesty also received Speaker Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al Mulla and Shura Chairman Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh. During these meetings, HM the King directed the government to reconsider the two bills of pension and retirement laws in cooperation with the parliament, taking into consideration all views and remarks expressed during discussions at the Shura and Representatives Councils as well as views expressed by citizens, columnists and journalists across the various media. His Majesty emphasised the importance of benefiting from the values of Bahrain's democratic experience based on consultation and consensus on various national issues, calling for cooperation between the legislative and executive branches, allowing more opportunity to finalize the consultations regarding both laws without haste. The reevaluation should achieve national agreements among the State’s authorities and respective institutions to introduce the necessary modifications on both currently applicable laws to ensure the continuous capability of the pension and insurance funds to fulfill their obligations vis-à-vis future generations. His Majesty also directed to reconsider the development of the pensions system in Bahrain in future to ensure preservation of citizens’ rights, secure financial stability of pension funds through the enhancement of areas of investment to boost the diversification of sources of income that reflect in the improvement of standards of services provided to pensioners in future.