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
Work after retirement and reappointment of a pensioner
In briefIf a civil servant who has already been referred to retirement is reappointed, Article 24 of Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014, as replaced by Law No. 26 of 2019, provides that pension rights are assessed after the later pensionable service is added to the earlier service. The last pension must not be lower than the pension on the date of reappointment, or than the pension of a peer who was not returned to service.
Reappointment to a pensionable post after referral is governed by Article 24 after the 2019 amendment. It is not the combining of two pensions; that is on May two pensions be combined?.
The wider framework is on retirement matters.
Article 24 after it was replaced in 2019
Article 7 of First Amendment Law No. 26 of 2019 replaces Article 24 of Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014. The text in force is that a civil servant referred to retirement, after being reappointed, is entitled to pension rights under this law after the later pensionable service is added to the earlier pensionable service. The last pension must not be lower than the pension on the date of reappointment, or than the pension of a peer who was not returned to service and who is equal in grade and specialism.
On that wording, reappointment is not read as keeping two pensions at the same time under combination texts that were cancelled. It is a fresh assessment after the new service ends, by adding the periods, with a floor for the resulting pension. The file follows the reappointment order, the length of the new service, and the decision of the National Pension Authority (هيأة التقاعد الوطنية) after the person leaves the post to which he or she was returned.
The former text of Article 24 — before this replacement — cut the pension on reappointment to a pensionable post, and barred combining a salary with a pension, with an option to remain in the post without a salary. That text was cancelled by the replacement, so a ruling is not built on it after 31 December 2019 unless an earlier case remains whose date is read from the file. The timeline is on what the 2019 amendment changed.
If a retirement gratuity was already received
Article 23, First: if a civil servant who was previously granted the retirement gratuity under any pension law is reappointed to a pensionable post, the service for which the gratuity was received is counted for pension purposes after the gratuity is repaid and the difference in pension contributions is paid, calculated on the salary on the date of the request to add the service. Article 23, Second, allows this amount to be paid in equal instalments equal to one-fifth of the salary plus three per cent, provided all instalments are paid within five years from the date of the Authority’s decision to allow instalments. If the person returned to service dies, or is referred to retirement again, before the gratuity is repaid, Article 23, Third, provides that it is recovered from the pension or from a successor’s pension in an amount equal to one-fifth of the pension, or from the gratuity if one is due.
This rule is specific to a person who received a gratuity and was then reappointed, and it does not replace a reading of Article 24 after the service is added. A person whose service was less than fifteen years and who received a gratuity under Article 22 loses the right to add service after receiving it unless reappointed to a pensionable post, as on the retirement gratuity.
Work in the private sector after referral is not the subject of Article 24. If the person later returns to workers’ social insurance, or asks for insured service to be added, the basis is Article 19, and paying to add pensionable service. If the occupational or family position changes, Article 35, Second, requires the Authority to be told in writing within one hundred and twenty days.
The office follows the reappointment and the assessment after the new service ends.
| Issue | Text in force |
|---|---|
| Adding later service to earlier service | Article 24 after the 2019 amendment |
| Floor: the pension at reappointment, or a peer’s pension | Article 24 itself |
| Repaying the gratuity and the contribution difference to count earlier service | Article 23 |
| Instalments within five years | Article 23, Second |
| Telling the Authority of a change of position | Article 35, Second, within 120 days |
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
May a pensioner combine the salary of the new post with the pension?
Amended Article 24 does not describe reappointment as combining two pensions. The combination texts were cancelled by Article 10 of Law No. 26 of 2019, except what that article excepts.
What if a gratuity was received and the person was then reappointed?
Article 23 requires repayment of the gratuity and payment of the contribution difference before that service is counted again, with instalments allowed on the written conditions.
Does private-sector work after retirement automatically cut the pension?
Article 24 regulates reappointment to a pensionable post. The effect of private work is read from the duty to notify under Article 35, Second, and from the conditions of a successor’s share where what is paid is a share rather than the original pension, not from an automatic cut that this text does not write.
Related topics and articles
- 01May two pensions be combined?Article 10 of Law No. 26 of 2019 cancels texts that allow two or more pensions to be combined, with a written exception for named categories.
- 02What 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.
- 03When a pension is stopped or cutArticle 27 cuts a wife, daughter or sister's share on marriage or appointment. Notice is due in 120 days. Attachment under Article 33 may not exceed 50%.
- 04The retirement gratuity, the monthly lump sum and the end-of-service awardThe retirement gratuity, the monthly lump sum and the end-of-service award under Iraq's Unified Retirement Law: who gets each and how it is calculated.
- 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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