JEDDAH, 16 April 2005 — The Education Administration in Jeddah on Wednesday honored women employees who retired in 2004-5 after long years of service as educators.
Two hundred and thirty female teachers and administrators from schools of all levels and special education institutions in Jeddah who retired or are about to retire at the end of this school year were honored in a simple but touching ceremony at the administration’s headquarters attended by their colleagues and family members.
Omaima Zahid, director of media and public relations unit, and Dr. Samia Binladin, director of the Education Supervisory Administration, both spoke in appreciation for the retirees’ dedication and commitment to serving the community and laying the foundation for the next generation.
Dr. Hanim Yarkandi spoke about the “Age spring psychology” to encourage the retirees to consider the next phase in their life as a welcome opportunity rather than a slow retreat and inactivity.
The longest segment and the one received the most reaction was the presentation by Fatima Al-Ali, the women’s section director at the General Institution for Pension, on “Women and the retirement system”.
The retirees were curious to know more about their rights and their family members’ rights to their pension.
Al-Ali began her presentation on the long and productive life of women in the work force. “In the early 1980s only 14 women retired from their jobs in the whole Kingdom. Today we are honoring 230 retiring women from one city. Last year, 14,000 women retired from their jobs in the Kingdom, the majority of whom in the education sector. A sum of SR77 million a month is given as pension to retired women in the Kingdom,” she said.
Al-Ali explained what a woman could expect to receive as pension based on the retirement system and what her family members could expect to receive once she died depending on their sex, age, and marital and citizenship statuses. She emphasized that the women should make sure that their papers are in order at their place of work and the Ministry of Civil Service because the institutions’ role is only to dispense the pension; any delays in the processing are caused by the place of work.
She also emphasized that the word retiree in the system includes men and women, so women have the same rights as men once they reach the retirement age of 60. Another point she clarified is that a person’s pension is not tied to that of spouse; if one of them dies the other would continue to receive her or his pension while the deceased’s pension would go to his or her heirs.
And here is where some had questions and objections. In case both parents died, their inheritors would receive only the higher of the two pensions. The male inheritor receives his part of the pension until the age of 21 or until 26 if he is studying or for life if he is unable to work. If the female inheritor marries or gets employed she ceases to receive her part of the pension but if she gets divorced she is entitled to it again and if her husband dies she gets the higher of the two pensions.
The inheritors of a Saudi woman married to a non-Saudi would not receive her pension unless her children are Saudi. However, a non-Saudi wife may continue to receive her Saudi husband’s pension after his death.
“The retirement system guarantees the woman’s rights. We know there are a few points of objection and there is a proposal to change the system and address these points. The retirement system is considered a social support system,” she said.
