Decision on early retirement delayed till next week

Kuwait National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem denied yesterday that the government has resigned, describing social media reports on the issue as "rumors". Social media reports said Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and several ministers have resigned, but government sources immediately denied the reports, saying that the prime minister is on an official vacation.

Among the ministers rumored to have also quit along with the premier are Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh, Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah.

The speaker said that some of the ministers mentioned were in fact in the Assembly attending committee meetings, adding things are running normally. Ghanem called on Kuwaitis not to heed rumors on social media and reiterated that the Cabinet has not resigned.

Meanwhile, the Assembly's financial and economic affairs committee delayed its decision on the early retirement draft law until Monday after the government and the pensions agency expressed reservations. Ghanem, who attended the meeting, said the committee is heading towards consensus on the issue and hoped that a final agreed decision will be taken next week.

Rapporteur of the panel MP Saleh Ashour told reporters that the government rejected the three proposals made by a foreign company, which conducted a comprehensive study on the issue. He said the company said Kuwaiti employees can retire after 30 years in service without additional financial costs and can still get full benefits. The company made two other proposals that allow employees to retire earlier, but by losing some of the financial benefits. These scenarios will cost the pensions agency up to KD 2.2 billion annually for more than 25 years.

The government however proposed that employees who wish to retire early should pay from their salaries to the pension agency, but the proposal was not accepted by the committee, Ashour said. He said that if the government does not submit a proposal in writing on Monday, the committee will vote on its proposals for the National Assembly to debate the bill next week.