Abu Dhabi // The Pension Board should treat retired people with more dignity, FNC members claimed yesterday, describing some of its procedures as “chaotic and unorganised”.
Dr Abdullah Al Shamsi (Ajman) said people still had to travel in person to Dubai to submit a pension application and called for the implementation of smartphone services so they could avoid making this trip.
He said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, had launched the smart government initiative – but this had not been adopted when it came to pensions.
FNC members voiced their concerns to Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs and vice chairman of the General Pension and Social Security Authority, at the meeting in the capital yesterday.
“Immediate action should be taken to benefit from smartphones. Many retirees come from other emirates to register for the pensions [in Dubai] and some apply for their family members,” he said.
“When he [the relative] arrives, they ask him for the person’s physical appearance at the authority and do not accept his legitimate papers.”
Dr Al Shamsi described the fund’s system as “chaotic and unorganised”, and said there was no “etiquette” in dealing with people who had served their country.
“I am one of the retirees. No one ever called me. The authority does not accept that a son is calling on behalf of his father.
“We represent the people. I need an answer – what eases the people’s procedures in such cases?” he asked.
However, Mr Al Tayer said the board had been working on an advanced online service for the past three years.
“At this point, we are following a planned operation. We will reach those pensioners that cannot reach us – customer service centres will be provided everywhere and we will reach all people,” he said.
He said the employees at the authority were doing their jobs and were not following a “lazy routine”.
“We deal with such cases with humanity and respect. In 2013, the authority spent Dh2.5 billion on pensions. There is a law we must follow – this is all for the benefit of the pensioners,” he said.
Other FNC members praised Dr Al Shamsi’s comments during the session.
Meanwhile, Dr Mona Al Bahar (Dubai) argued that the heirs of deceased women deserved to receive her pension.
She said many women had spoken to her regarding their dire need for pensions in order to live a stable life and said women were only asking for equality.
“Women have complained to me and I wish the minister would clarify,” she said.
In some Arabian Gulf countries, Dr Al Bahar said women received half of their pension when they retired as a lump sum so it could be invested.
“Then, the other half is given [to relatives] after death. So why don’t we implement that?” she asked.
“The UAE has become the number one country that gives great praise to women.
“Today, the UAE is the only country on an Arab level to have a clear strategy in developing women, with the supervision of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. We are considered partners of men, as equals. A women’s pension is her right and she requires answers,” said Dr Al Bahar.
Mr Al Tayer said: “I respect what you have said but this is the law and it has its conditions. The law is effective towards those eligible [to the pension].
“If a woman dies leaving behind married daughters or men – they are not accountable for the pension. Divorced daughters are a separate case.”
The FNC session continues in the capital today and is open to the public.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
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Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
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Serbia 1
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
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- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
