Morocco Slashes Retirement Pension Tax by Up to 70%, Minister Announces

In her response to a written question from MP Nadia Bzandafa of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) to the House of Representatives, the minister indicated that the minimum threshold for pensions is now set at 1,000 dirhams per month for the National Social Security Fund and 1,500 dirhams for civil and military retirement schemes as well as for the collective retirement pension scheme.

The MP asked the government what measures it intends to take to introduce an increase in the pensions of public and private sector retirees, following its decision to increase the salaries of public sector civil servants, taken in agreement with the unions.

In response, Nadia Fettah recalled that the government had increased the pensions of the National Social Security Fund in 2022, by 5%, with a minimum of 100 dirhams, and with retroactive effect from January 2020, renewing the government’s commitment to improving the living conditions of retirees in the public and private sectors and strengthening social justice.

The official also stressed the relevance of the pension reform, aimed at establishing an equitable and sustainable system. According to official data, more than 700,000 retirees live in difficult conditions due to the derisory pensions they receive, reaching 1,500 dirhams for most (60%). The other retirees (40%) receive nothing, because they do not meet the required conditions, according to Bouchaïb Maâloum, president of the Moroccan Union of Retirees.

The Moroccan Labor Union had called on the government to increase retirement pensions from 1,500 dirhams to a maximum of 3,129 dirhams, the equivalent of the minimum wage, to allow these public and private sector agents to live in decent conditions and adequately meet their vital needs in this period of widespread price increases, after years of good and loyal service to the kingdom.