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
The retirement referral order
In briefThe retirement referral order, or referral decision, is the order by which pensionable service ends in the body where the civil servant works, before the file reaches the National Pension Authority for assessment. Who issues it is read from Articles 12 and 14 of Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014, according to the type of referral and the nature of the appointment. The full steps of the transaction are on a separate page.
The retirement referral order is the start of the transaction in the department, not the end of assessment at the National Pension Authority (هيأة التقاعد الوطنية). What follows the order is on steps of a retirement transaction.
The type of referral changes the basis of the order: compulsory retirement, retirement on request, and medical retirement.
Who issues the order, according to the type of referral and the appointment
Article 10 sets out the cases of compulsory referral. Issue of the order in those cases is an application of the text, and is not dependent on the civil servant’s consent. The order states the basis of referral and its reason, so that later assessment can rest on that reason.
If a request for referral is made under Article 12, First or Second, the competent minister, the head of a body not attached to a ministry, or the governor, or a person authorised by any of them, decides the request within forty-five days from the date it is recorded in that office. If no decision is taken, the civil servant is deemed referred to retirement at the end of that period, and is entitled to the pension rights provided by the law, under Article 12, Fourth. In that case, what stands as the order is the decision accepting the request, or the expiry of the period with no decision taken. The time limit is not, by itself, extended to compulsory or health referral.
Article 14, First: a civil servant appointed by republican decree, or by an order of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister or the Presidency of the Council of Representatives, is referred to retirement in the same manner as the appointment. Article 14, Second, as amended by Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 2019: a civil servant named in the First clause is referred to retirement for reaching the legal age or for health reasons by a decision of the competent minister or the head of a body not attached to a ministry. The form of the appointment order in a special appointment remains relevant, together with this rule in the cases of age and health.
The order is issued by the body where the civil servant works, not by the Authority. The Authority assesses after the file arrives, and does not take the place of the referral order. If the order is incomplete, or conflicts with the person’s service or with the type of referral, the gap is taken back to the issuing body before assessment is built on an incomplete basis.
What follows the order, and what is not cancelled by a general phrase
After the order is issued and the civil servant leaves the post, the service and contribution papers are completed, and the file is sent to the Authority. Papers and causes of delay are on retirement file papers and delays. Assessment is on calculating a pension.
The law does not, in these articles, contain a provision headed “cancellation of the referral order” after it has been validly issued. If there is an error in the order, or the civil servant disputes its reason or the competence of the person who issued it, that is a dispute about an administrative decision connected with the ending of service and with referral, and it is read with the referral order and the service file. After the assessment decision is issued, objections to the Authority’s decisions are before the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council within ninety days of actual or constructive notification, then an appeal against the Council’s decision before the Federal Court of Cassation within sixty days of notification, under Article 30, as on the Pensioners’ Cases Audit Council.
The office follows the basis of the order, the competence of the person who issued it, and its consistency with the type of referral.
| Issue | Who issues or decides | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| A request for referral under Article 12, First and Second | The competent minister, the head of a body not attached to a ministry, the governor, or a person authorised by any of them | Article 12, Fourth |
| Silence on that request | The civil servant is deemed referred after 45 days from recording of the request | Article 12, Fourth |
| A person appointed by decree or by an order of the bodies named in Article 14, First | In the same manner as the appointment | Article 14, First |
| Referral of a person covered by Article 14, First, for reaching the legal age or for health reasons | The competent minister or the head of a body not attached to a ministry | Article 14, Second, after the 2019 amendment |
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
Does the National Pension Authority issue the referral order?
No. The order is issued by the body where the civil servant works, under Articles 12 and 14. The Authority assesses the rights after the file arrives.
What if the minister is silent on a request for referral for more than forty-five days?
Article 12, Fourth, treats the civil servant as referred at the end of the period, if the request was made under the First or Second clause of that article.
May a referral order issued in accordance with the law be cancelled on a later request?
These articles do not provide a general cancellation after the order has been validly issued. A dispute about an error in the basis or in competence is read from the decision and the service file.
Related topics and articles
- 01Steps 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.
- 02Compulsory referral to retirementWhen referral to retirement is compulsory: reaching the legal age regardless of service, or unfitness decided by the official medical committee.
- 03Early 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.
- 04Retirement on health grounds and the medical committee in IraqWhen an Iraqi State employee is retired on health grounds: the official medical committee, effects on service and pension, work injury, the 30-day appeal.
- 05What 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.
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.
Read →