MORE than 2,500 Bahrainis have sought early retirement in the third quarter of this year, with the majority being private sector employees.
The average retirement age for Bahraini men was 46 and 44 for women.
The figures were revealed in the latest Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) report for Q3 2022.
There were 2,615 new pensioners in the private sector (2,277 of whom opted for early retirement) and 497 in the public sector (of which 416 chose early retirement).
Meanwhile, 5,731 Bahrainis joined the workforce in the private sector along with 1,147 in the public sector – raising the total number of contributors to SIO to 149,321 Bahrainis (49,878 in the public sector and 99,443 in the private sector). This compares with 145,849 employees in 2021, 142,018 in 2020, 142,972 in 2019 and 147,458.
The SIO is the kingdom’s official agency for advancement of social insurance and pension services to all individuals.
Employers and employees contribute to the SIO which provides social insurance coverage for individuals against risks of ageing, disability, death, work-related injuries and unemployment in both public and private sectors.
The new retirements raised the number of living pensioners to 78,363 by the end of Q3 2022 – up from 74,303 in Q3 of 2021 – marking a five per cent increase.
According to the SIO, of the 78,363 pensioners, 34,313 (20,078 males and 14,235 females) are from the public sector and 44,050 (29,930 males and 14,120 females) from the private sector.
Meanwhile, of the 14,302 deceased pensioners, 6,250 (5,503 males and 747 females) were from the public sector and 8,052 (7,444 males and 608 females) from the private sector up to Q3 2022.
This figure is up from 13,692 deceased pensioners in 2021, 12,689 in 2020, 12,007 in 2019 and 11,311 in 2018.
According to the report, the average pension up to the third quarter of this year was BD798 – BD851 for males and BD704 for females.
Up to Q3 this year, the number of beneficiaries of pensions for the deceased increased to 23,160 (86pc female and 14pc male), marking a 5pc rise compared to Q3 of 2021.
The statistics also highlighted that 433 new beneficiaries from the public sector and 42 from the private sector were added up to Q3 of this year.
Of the total 11,399 beneficiaries from the private sector, 50pc are children (5,691) with an average of BD332 pension, 40pc are widows (4,542) with an average pension of BD485 and 10pc are others (1,166) – which includes parents, siblings and grandchildren with an average pension of BD239.
Meanwhile, of the 11,761 beneficiaries from the private sector, 45pc are children (5,291) with an average pension of BD262, 40pc are widows (4,753) with an average pension of BD350 and 15pc are others (1,717) with an average pension of BD155.
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