Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is making ready to announce a brand new voluntary pension and financial savings program that will likely be open to each Saudi and overseas staff, in line with the Worldwide Financial Fund’s (IMF) newest Article IV session report, cited by Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper.
This system is designed to spice up family financial savings and is predicted to assist curb the outflow of staff’ remittances overseas. The Public Pension and Financial savings Program is anticipated to be unveiled quickly.
Overseas remittances from Saudi Arabia rose 14 p.c final yr to SR144.2 billion ($38.4 billion). Over the previous decade (2015–2024), they totaled SR1.43 trillion.
As of the primary quarter of 2025, Saudi Arabia had 12.8 million subscribers within the social insurance coverage system, 77 p.c of whom — almost 10 million — have been expatriates.
The IMF report famous that just lately carried out pension reforms, authorized in July 2024, are anticipated to strengthen long-term monetary sustainability. These reforms included elevating the retirement age, extending contribution intervals, rising contribution charges, and proscribing pension advantages.
Whereas the modifications are unlikely to generate speedy fiscal financial savings because the system is at present balanced, the IMF harassed the necessity to totally assess and disclose the medium-term influence.
The upcoming voluntary pension and financial savings program, open to each Saudis and expatriates, was described as a welcome step that might considerably improve family financial savings and cut back exterior remittances.
The IMF additionally highlighted the dimensions of GOSI’s belongings, which quantity to 32 p.c of Saudi Arabia’s GDP, underscoring the significance of enhancing transparency by stronger monetary disclosures and clearer allocation guidelines.