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
Counting advocacy practice for pension purposes
In briefA period of practice of the profession of advocacy is counted as pensionable service under Article 18, First, (e) of Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014, which refers to the Law on Counting Practice of the Profession of Advocacy No. 65 of 2007. Pension contributions of ten per cent a month of the salary on the date of appointment or joining are collected on that period, with a special rule if those contributions have already been paid to a syndicate fund.
The basis in Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014 is Article 18, First, (e), which refers to the Law on Counting Practice of the Profession of Advocacy No. 65 of 2007. Law No. 65 has a single substantive article: a lawyer appointed to a post in state departments has the period of practice of advocacy counted as actual service for the purposes of appointment, fixing the salary and retirement.
The list of periods that count is on what counts as pensionable service?. Paying contributions in order to add service is on paying to add pensionable service.
Counting under Article 18, and the contribution rate
Article 18, First, counts specified periods as pensionable service. Among them, in clause (e), is the period of practice of the profession of advocacy provided for by the Law on Counting Practice of the Profession of Advocacy No. 65 of 2007. The counting is not an assessment by the Authority in isolation from that law, and its conditions are not replaced by a general phrase such as “years of advocacy”. Article 1 of Law No. 65 of 2007 provides that for a lawyer appointed to a post in state departments, the period of practice of advocacy is counted as actual service for appointment, salary fixing and retirement, by way of exception from Revolutionary Command Council (Dissolved) Resolution No. 600 of 1980, and Article 2 provides for its entry into force on publication; the law contains no other articles on registration conditions.
Pension contributions of ten per cent a month of the person’s salary on the date of appointment or joining are collected on this period. The rate is the applicant’s share of the salary on that date, not the ongoing rate in Article 17 during state service (ten per cent borne by the employee and fifteen per cent by the treasury, from the salary). The base date is the date of appointment or joining, and it is read from the appointment order or from the joining document relied on in the file.
Contributions may not be paid on the counted period if they have already been paid to the pension fund of the relevant syndicate or profession. The syndicate or equivalent body is required to pay the full contributions paid for the counted years to the pension fund at the Authority. The meaning is that what was paid to the syndicate fund is not paid a second time by the applicant, and the sums are transferred to the State Employees’ Pension Fund at the National Pension Authority (هيأة التقاعد الوطنية). Any dispute about the transfer of the sums is read with the syndicate and the Authority from this rule; a period that was never paid for is added only on payment.
What sits beside this in the same clause, and what must not be mixed with it
The same clause (e) also mentions the period of practice of journalism provided for by Journalists’ Rights Law No. 21 of 2011, and the period of agricultural release, and the sentence on collecting contributions and the special rule on payment to a syndicate fund or equivalent body applies to them. The subject is advocacy; journalism and agricultural release appear in the same text, and each has its own provisions.
Adding insured private-sector service, or paying contributions that could not be collected under Article 19, is a different path, on paying to add pensionable service. Counting accumulated ordinary leave in excess of one hundred and eighty days, with no contributions, is a separate rule in Article 18, First, (d), and is not mixed with counting professional practice.
After it is counted, the period enters the pensionable service on which the formula in Article 21 is built, or the conditions of referral on request or compulsory referral, each as it applies. The formula is on calculating a pension. If the applicant disputes a refusal to count the period, or the amount of the contributions, or their transfer from the syndicate fund, the objection is before the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council within ninety days of actual or constructive notification of the Authority’s decision, then an appeal against the Council’s decision before the Federal Court of Cassation within sixty days of notification, under Article 30.
The office follows a request to count the period, the basis of the practice, and the payment of contributions or their transfer from the syndicate fund.
| Issue | Rule in Law No. 9 | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Basis for counting | The Law on Counting Practice of the Profession of Advocacy No. 65 of 2007 | Article 18, First, (e) |
| Contribution rate on the counted period | 10% a month of the salary on the date of appointment or joining | Article 18, First, (e) |
| If the contributions were already paid to the syndicate fund | They are not paid a second time, and the syndicate must transfer them in full to the Authority’s fund | Article 18, First, (e) |
| Scope of Law No. 65 | A lawyer appointed to a post in state departments; the period of practice is actual service for appointment, salary and retirement | Article 1 of Law No. 65 of 2007 |
Legal basis and sources
- Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014
- Law on Counting Practice of the Profession of Advocacy No. 65 of 2007
Frequently asked questions
Are all years of advocacy counted automatically after appointment?
Counting is limited by what Law No. 65 of 2007 provides, and by payment of the contributions or transfer of what was paid to the syndicate fund. It is not automatic merely because the profession is mentioned in a curriculum vitae.
If I have already paid into the advocates’ pension fund, do I pay again?
Article 18, First, (e), bars payment of contributions on the counted period if they have already been paid to that syndicate’s fund, and requires the syndicate to transfer the full amount paid for the counted years to the Authority’s fund.
Is the ten per cent rate the same as the monthly deduction from the salary?
The rate in this clause is calculated on the salary on the date of appointment or joining, for the counted period of practice. The deduction under Article 17 during employment is ten per cent borne by the employee and fifteen per cent by the treasury, which is a different path.
Related topics and articles
- 01What counts as pensionable service, and how is earlier service added?What counts as pensionable service under Iraq's Unified Retirement Law: contributions, military, contract and advocacy service, exclusions, transfers.
- 02Paying to add pensionable service in IraqArticles 18 and 19 cover adding service and paying contributions, including private service up to half of state service, and instalments over five years.
- 03Calculating a pension in IraqHow a pension is calculated under the Unified Pension Law: a 36-month average, the 2.5% rate, 15 years of service, the age of payment, and the cap.
- 04Steps of a retirement transactionThe file goes from referral to the Authority’s assessment, then payment. Article 12 requests are decided in 45 days. Objections follow Articles 29 and 30.
- 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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