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
Does the Unified Pension Law apply to military personnel?
In briefThe definition of employee in Article 1 of the Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014 includes a person entrusted with a military post from whose pay contributions are deducted. At the same time, the Military Service and Pension Law No. 3 of 2010 organises referral and pension rights for those it covers. The 2019 amendment left that law in force on the legal age for those persons.
Whether the Unified Pension Law applies to military personnel is not reduced to one law repealing the other. The Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014 treats a military person as an employee in its definition, and the Military Service and Pension Law No. 3 of 2010 organises the service, referral and rights of those it covers. The relationship between the two texts is that of a general text and a special one; the internal security forces are covered on the Internal Security Forces Service and Pension Law.
The wider framework is on retirement matters.
What does the Unified Pension Law say?
Article 1, Seventh, of Law No. 9 of 2014: an employee is any person entrusted with a civil or military post, or a post in the security forces, or a public-service assignment, who receives a salary, wage or allowance from the State, and from whom pension contributions are deducted. Article 3 applies the law to employees of State departments and the public sector in cases of retirement, illness or disability, old age and death, as that article describes.
On recalculation, Article 35, Third(b) uses the rank pay provided for under Law No. 3 of 2010 as amended for members of the army, and takes the last functional salary at the date of referral if it is higher than the rank pay. The general 2.5% formula and the conditions of payment are on calculating a pension. Rank tables and pay figures are those in the military service and pension law in force and in the referral order.
What remains for the Military Service and Pension Law?
Article 1 of Law No. 3 of 2010 applies to a military person who is an officer of the rank of lieutenant or above, a student of military colleges, institutes and schools, an imam in the army, or a volunteer of the rank of soldier or above, and states that a military person, for the purposes of that law, is one who belongs to the Iraqi armed forces and takes military service as a profession. Article 2 makes one of the law’s aims the organisation of referral to retirement or resignation, and of pension rights, allowances and deprivation of them.
Article 9 of First Amendment Law No. 26 of 2019 cancels texts that set another legal retirement age for an employee, and among the laws it expressly excepts from that cancellation is the Military Service and Pension Law No. 3 of 2010 as amended. That law therefore remains the basis for the legal age for those it covers. That age is read from the text of Law No. 3 of 2010 in force and from the referral order. Referral, acceptance of resignation and return to service of an officer take place, under Article 3 of that law, on a proposal of the Minister of Defence and the approval of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces or a person delegated by the Commander-in-Chief, as that text provides.
The file is distinguished by reading the person’s status: is the person a military member in the sense of Law No. 3 of 2010, a member of the internal security forces, or a civil employee? A change of status changes the basis of the legal age and of rank pay; it does not necessarily displace the Unified Pension Law on contributions, calculation, or an objection before the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council.
| Issue | Basis |
|---|---|
| A military person included in the definition of employee | Article 1, Seventh, of Law No. 9 of 2014 |
| Scope of Law No. 3 of 2010 | Its Article 1: an officer, a student, an imam and a volunteer in the armed forces |
| Law No. 3 of 2010 remaining in force on the legal age | Article 9 of Law No. 26 of 2019 |
| Rank pay as the basis on recalculation | Article 35, Third, (b), of Law No. 9 of 2014 |
The office follows the nature of the service, the text relied on in the referral order, and the decision of Hay’at al-Taqa‘ud al-Wataniyya (the National Pension Authority).
Legal basis and sources
- Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014
- First Amendment Law No. 26 of 2019
- Military Service and Pension Law No. 3 of 2010
Frequently asked questions
Is Law No. 3 of 2010 enough on its own for a military pension file?
Law No. 3 of 2010 organises referral and rights for those it covers, and the Unified Pension Law remains a basis for the definition, contributions, the calculation formula and recalculation on the basis of rank. The two texts are read together.
Does the same rule apply to a member of the internal security forces?
The two should not be mixed. A member of the internal security forces has a separate service and pension law, No. 18 of 2011, and a separate page.
Did Law No. 3 of 2010 remain in force on the legal age after the 2019 amendment?
Article 9 of Law No. 26 of 2019 excepts it from the cancellation of texts that set another legal age, so it remains the basis on this point for those it covers.
Related topics and articles
- 01The Internal Security Forces Service and Pension LawLaw No. 18 of 2011 organises referral and pension rights of a police officer, and is read with the Unified Pension Law after the 2019 amendment.
- 02Calculating 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.
- 03What 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.
- 04Compulsory referral to retirementWhen referral to retirement is compulsory: reaching the legal age regardless of service, or unfitness decided by the official medical committee.
- 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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