UAE pension authority makes it easier for employees to switch jobs

Changes to the ‘Shourak’ program in the UAE now allow Emirati employees to request the merging of service years within three months of joining a new company, instead of the previous one-month limit.

The ‘Shourak’ program permits insured employees to combine their service years to meet the requirements for pension eligibility.

These changes are effective for requests made to the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) after July 1, 2023. This adjustment is due to some applications taking longer than a month, causing rejections.

“In order to ensure requests are valid … the insured must submit a request to his/her entity by the end of the service period and sign an agreement declaration to ‘not be paid’ the … gratuity. They must also join a new employer within six months from the end-of-service period. A request to merge the service within three months from joining the new entity must be submitted,” explained the GPSSA.

‘Shourak’ is designed for insured individuals who want to transition from one employer to another under the GPSSA. Individuals with less than one year of service in an entity are not entitled to an end-of-service gratuity.