“We do agree that it might sound unfair. Therefore, we are looking into a reasonable increase, which would be 10 percent for pensions of SR2,000 and then decreased the higher the pension goes. For pensions of SR25,000 and above there will be no increase,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Hunaidi, board director of the National Retirees Association, a private body established in 2007.

He added that although the approved increase might not be satisfactory, it is a step forward.

For 66-year-old Mobarak, a retired government employee, the National Retirees Association has so far been of little benefit. “I struggle with the SR4,500 pension I receive. I have five children and live in a rented house. What can I gain by becoming a member of the association?” he said.

Thirty percent of pensioners in the Kingdom receive less than SR2,000, while 64 percent receive less than SR4,000; 40 percent of pensioners also do not own their own homes.

Al-Hunaidi said that although the association has been unable to deliver dramatic solutions to problems faced by retirees during its first term of three years, it has been able to establish its regulations and bylaws.

The board director said that this is an achievement in itself, adding that “the association is keen to offer the Kingdom’s 650,000 retirees the best opportunities for a better life by approaching banks to facilitate long-term loans for retirees and encourage investors to contribute by including the poor in their projects, such as establishing houses and reducing interest in consumers products.”

“Regulating the services that the association offers retirees is not easy. However, I have been elected board director for the present term,” he said, adding that the association is on the verge of completing agreements with official government bodies to activate various services.

Al-Hunaidi said the association’s branches in other areas have already reached agreements with supermarkets and hospitals to give retirees reductions in prices.

“On the other hand, retirees whose pensions are under SR2,000 have the right to receive social security to enable them to face inflation and better their lives and deal with poverty,” said Al-Hunaidi.

“The 5 percent increase is set for three years to enable officials to review its benefits, study the results … and possibly increase it,” he added.