Retirement file papers and common reasons for delay
The papers a State employee retirement file rests on, and why some files are delayed: age mismatches, unrecorded service, unpaid contributions.
Read →Retirement transactions
May two pensions be combined?
In briefFirst Amendment Law No. 26 of 2019, in its Article 10, cancelled texts that allowed two or more pensions to be combined, and excepted political prisoners, relatives of martyrs and victims of terrorism, according to the laws in force. After this amendment the general rule is that they may not be combined, and an exception is read from a person’s status under those laws, not from a wish to combine them.
After First Amendment Law No. 26 of 2019 came into force on 31 December 2019, the answer is read first from its Article 10, not from earlier texts that allowed combination and were then cancelled. Survivors’ rights in the distribution of a single pension are on a deceased person’s pension.
The wider framework is on retirement matters and on what the 2019 amendment changed.
The general rule after Article 10: combination is cancelled, with a written exception
Article 10 of Law No. 26 of 2019: all legal texts that allow two or more salaries or pensions to be combined are cancelled, except in the case of political prisoners, relatives of martyrs and victims of terrorism, according to the laws in force. The conditions of the exception are taken from the laws of the Political Prisoners Foundation, the Martyrs Foundation, and compensation of those affected by terrorist operations, as they stand in force, and from proof of status in the file.
A person who does not fall within this written exception cannot base a right to combine on a text that has been cancelled. If more than one pension has been paid without a basis still in force, Hay’at al-Taqa‘ud al-Wataniyya (the National Pension Authority) must be informed in writing of any change in employment, professional or family status within one hundred and twenty days, under Article 35, Second, of Law No. 9 of 2014; if sums are received without a legal right, a fine of five per cent of the sums paid is imposed, and is entered as revenue of the fund. Apart from that statutory rate, figures follow the assessment decision in the file.
Article 33 of the Unified Pension Law forbids assignment of pension rights to natural or legal persons, treats such an assignment as void, and limits attachment except for a lawful maintenance debt or a debt due to the public treasury, and to no more than fifty per cent. That is a rule on disposing of the right, not a permission to combine two pensions.
Reappointment and a survivor’s share, distinguished from combination
Reappointment of a pensioner to a pensionable post is governed by Article 24 as replaced in 2019: the later service is added to the earlier service, and the later pension may not be less than the pension at reappointment or than that of a peer. That is on work after retirement, and is not a combination of a salary and a pension under a cancelled text.
A survivor’s share is distributed from the deceased’s pension at the rates in Article 28, under the conditions in Article 26, including that the person entitled must not be receiving a functional salary or a pension and must not have a private income, a profession or work in the private sector, as that article provides. That is a condition of entitlement to a share, not a licence for the original pensioner to combine two pensions.
An objection to a decision of the Authority on this subject lies before the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council, within ninety days, then cassation before the Federal Court of Cassation within sixty days, under Article 30 of Law No. 9 of 2014.
| Description | Basis |
|---|---|
| Cancellation of texts that allow combination | Article 10 of Law No. 26 of 2019 |
| The written exception | Political prisoners, relatives of martyrs and victims of terrorism, according to the laws in force |
| Notification of a change of position | Article 35, Second, of Law No. 9 of 2014, within 120 days |
| Objection to an Authority decision | Article 30: 90 days before the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council, then 60 days in cassation |
The office follows payment decisions and any claimed description of an exception.
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
Was the combination of two pensions cancelled entirely?
Article 10 cancels texts that allow it, and excepts political prisoners, relatives of martyrs and victims of terrorism, according to the laws in force. Outside that exception, a cancelled text is not relied on.
Is reappointment of a pensioner a combination of two pensions?
Article 24 as amended organises rights after reappointment by adding service, not as a combination of a salary and a pension on the basis of cancelled texts.
Where is an objection brought if one of the pensions is stopped?
An objection to decisions of the National Pension Authority lies before the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council within ninety days, under Article 30.
Related topics and articles
- 01What the 2019 amendment to the Unified Pension Law changedMain changes in Law No. 26 of 2019: a new Article 10, exceptions to the legal age, recalculation, and limits on combining two pensions.
- 02Work after retirement and reappointment of a pensionerArticle 24 after the 2019 amendment adds later service to earlier service. The last pension must not fall below the pension at reappointment, or a peer's.
- 03A deceased employee's pension: survivors' rights after the death of an employee or pensionerWho receives a deceased employee's pension in Iraq, each survivor group's conditions, the distribution shares, and when a share stops or returns.
- 04Objecting to a National Pension Authority decision before the Pensioners' Cases Audit CouncilObjecting to a National Pension Authority decision before the Pensioners' Cases Audit Council in 90 days, then appealing to the Court of Cassation.
- 05Early retirement in Iraq: when can a State employee request retirement?Conditions for requesting retirement before the statutory age in Iraq under Article 12 of the Unified Retirement Law: age or service, mothers, timing.
Pension contributions and the deduction from a civil servant’s salary
Article 17 deducts 25% of salary (10% employee, 15% treasury) into the Fund. Self-funded bodies late over 6 months face a 3% monthly fine.
Read →Transferring a pension after death or between banks
After death, successors request allocation under Article 25. Shares follow Article 28. A bank change follows the Authority’s instructions, not a statute.
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