Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali announced that more than 700,000 Egyptians have so far claimed their pensions for July, following the adoption of a new law to increase pensions. In statements to the press yesterday, Boutros-Ghali said the new law on social insurance and pensions is being implemented for the first time starting this month. Boutros-Ghali gave instructions to social insurance offices to facilitate the payment of pensions and set up committees to handle any enquiries or problems. He also urged citizens to verify that their new pensions have been calculated correctly. He said any miscalculations should be reported to the Social Insurance Authority, or the Social Insurance Office nearest to the pensioner's place of residence. Two increases have been implemented starting this month, according to the minister. The first increase applies to all pension-holders--approximately eight million Egyptians. Of that number, 700,000 have already been able to withdraw their pension using an ATM card. The second increase applies to retirees who receive pensions lower than LE370 a month, whose total number is estimated to be 3.7 million. Boutros-Ghali added that Sadat pensions--given to people suffering difficult social conditions, such as widows and divorced women--will be increased from LE69 to LE124. Approximately 206,000 Egyptians are eligible for this increase, he said. Pensions for irregular and seasonal workers--governed by Social Insurance Law 112/1981--will also increase, from LE79 to LE124, benefitting approximately 1.837 million people, according to the minister. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
