Pension laws in the UAE build a more secure future for the mother and family

On the occasion of Mother’s Day, the General Pensions and Social Security Authority confirmed that empowering women and supporting working mothers represent a fundamental pillar for enhancing family stability and community cohesion, and an integral part of the comprehensive development vision of the UAE.

The Authority explained that national legislation and regulations have kept pace with the working mother’s reality to support her in achieving the optimal balance between her professional career and her family responsibilities, thus providing the country with a pioneering global model that translates appreciation into an integrated social protection system that makes empowering the mother a strategic investment in building the future of generations, especially since the mother’s active presence in the labor market has become a basic rule that reflects her vitality and effective contribution.

In this context, the Executive Director of the Pensions Sector at the General Pensions and Social Security Authority, Hind Al-Suwaidi, confirmed that the positive effects of these supportive policies go beyond the family environment to include the entire community, indicating that the mother’s sense of security and stability is directly and significantly reflected in the upbringing of children and the cohesion of the societal fabric.

Al Suwaidi said that celebrating Mother’s Day is a celebration of the wise vision of the leadership of the UAE, which established an integrated system to support and empower women at all levels, stressing that every legislation or policy that takes into account the mother’s circumstances represents, in essence, a real investment to ensure a more stable and prosperous future.

This supportive vision is practically embodied in the Authority’s statistics for the year 2025, where women constitute about 68% of the total insured subscribers, and this prominent and influential presence reflects the extent of the dual responsibility that women carry out efficiently, balancing their professional developmental role with their major and most important responsibility in building generations.

The Authority stressed that the insurance laws and legislation in the country are designed to form a real financial safety net for the mother, considering that financial security is the basis of reassurance and confident planning for the future. In an exceptional step that enhances her financial stability and gives her greater independence in managing her family’s affairs, the laws allow women, and not other beneficiaries, the right to combine their salary or personal pension with their share of their deceased husband’s pension.

In recognition of the extent of a woman’s responsibility to support her family after the loss of the breadwinner, Decree Law No. 57 of 2023 came to redistribute the pension percentages to those entitled to it fairly. The law raised the share of the widow’s entitlement, or widows collectively, to 40% of the total pension, in exchange for allocating 40% to male and female children, and 20% to the father, mother, or both.

The Authority’s advanced legislation also took into account the family circumstances of mothers by reducing the retirement age and the required contribution period for retirement purposes based on the number of children, which allows the mother more space to reconcile her professional ambitions and family stability without pressure. Under Decree Law No. 57 of 2023, the insured woman, whether married, divorced or widowed, is entitled to a retirement pension upon the end of her service based on her request when she reaches the age of 55 years and with a contribution period of 30 years.

To enhance this support, the subscription period is reduced by two years and the retirement age by three years for each of the fifth and sixth children, while the subscription period is reduced by three and a half years and the retirement age by four years for the seventh child.

This legislative update aims to consolidate women’s position as a pivotal partner in sustainable development, supported by the vision of wise leadership that empowers them in various fields such as education, work, leadership, entrepreneurship, space, and others.

To build sustainable independence for women, laws have given them flexible tools to plan their careers and retirement with high confidence. Law No. 7 of 1999 allowed women to purchase up to 10 years of legal service to enhance the value of their retirement pension, compared to only five years for men.

In addition to enshrining the principle of complete equality between men and women in the distribution of pensions, the insurance safety net is characterized by high flexibility to cover various life changes and stages, as the daughter or sister’s share of the pension, which was previously suspended due to marriage or work, is redisbursed in cases of divorce or leaving work.

The same law also permitted the creation of a new share for the daughter, sister, or mother in cases of the death of the husband or divorce, in a way that fully guarantees their rights without prejudice or prejudice to the shares of the remaining beneficiaries.