Royal Decree 50/2023 Promulgating the System of the Social Protection Fund

The functions, competences, assets, rights, obligations, holdings, and financial liabilities, as well as their associated data, of the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, the Royal Office Pension Fund, the Royal Oman Police Pension Fund, the Internal Security Service Pension Fund, the Royal Guard of Oman Pension Fund, the Sultan’s Special Force Pension Fund, the Diwan of Royal Court Pension Fund, and the Civil Service Employees Pension Fund are hereby transferred to the Social Protection Fund, with the exception of the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund and the holdings agreed upon between the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Military and Security Services Pension Fund, which shall be transferred to the Military and Security Services Pension Fund.

The functions, competences, assets, rights, obligations, holdings, and financial liabilities, as well as their associated data, of the Public Authority for Social Insurance are also hereby transferred to it, along with settling the difference between the funding ratio of the funds referred to in the previous paragraph and the funding ratio of the Public Authority for Social Insurance, and recording the settlement amount in the financial statements of the Social Protection Fund as a due asset. An agreement including all the details of the aforementioned settlement must be signed with the Public Authority for Social Insurance.

Obligations, calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Social Protection Law, from the pension programme of Petroleum Development Oman and the pension programme of the Central Bank of Oman, with the data associated with it are hereby transferred to it. Assets equal to such obligations shall also transfer to it from Petroleum Development Oman and the Central Bank of Oman. Agreements must be signed including all the details of the transfer.

The rights and obligations relating to the project for the restructuring of the pension and social protection funds and systems which are concluded by the National Programme for Fiscal Balance and the National Programme for Fiscal Sustainability and Financial Sector Development are hereby also transferred to it.

Article III

The Social Protection Fund shall be a universal and total legal successor to the funds, the authority, and programmes stipulated in article II of this decree in all contracts, agreements, investments, partnerships, and alliances concluded by or entered into by those entities, inside and outside the Sultanate of Oman.

This legal succession and transfer stipulated in article II of this decree does not result in changing the ultimate beneficiaries of the aforementioned assets, obligations, and programmes.

Article IV

The employees of the Diwan of Royal Court Pension Fund, the Civil Service Employees Pension Fund, and the Public Authority for Social Insurance are hereby transferred to the Social Protection Fund with their same grades and financial allocations. Any of the employees of the funds referred to in article II of this decree, or any of the specialists in the Directorate General of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Social Development, may be transferred by a decision by the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund in accordance with its needs, after coordination with the heads of the units.

Article V

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund shall issue the necessary regulations and decisions for implementing the provisions of the attached system, and until they are issued, the regulations and decisions in force continue to operate to the degree that they do not contradict with its provisions.

Article VI

The phrases “Ministry of Defence Pension Fund”, “Royal Office Pension Fund”, “Royal Oman Police Pension Fund”, “Internal Security Service Pension Fund”, “Royal Guard Pension Fund”, “Sultan’s Special Force Pension Fund”, “Diwan of Royal Court Pension Fund”, and “Civil Service Employees Pension Fund”, wherever they occur in the aforementioned laws and royal decrees, are hereby replaced with the phrase “Social Protection Fund”.

Article VII

The boards of directors of the pension funds, the Public Authority for Social Insurance, and the pension programmes referred to in article II of this decree are hereby dissolved.

Article VIII

All pension funds and the Public Authority for Social Insurance established by virtue of the aforementioned Royal Decrees 45/80, 26/86, 72/91, 3/93, 6/93, 87/93, 7/94, 101/94, and 86/96, and the Pension Programme of Petroleum Development Oman and the Pension Programme of the Central Bank of Oman shall be abolished after the transfer of ownership of all their assets to the Social Protection Fund. The date of the end of the transfer of the ownership shall be issued by a decision by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund which must be published in the Official Gazette.

Article IX

All that is contrary to this decree and the attached system, or in conflict with their provisions, is hereby repealed.

Article X

This decree shall be published in the Official Gazette, and comes into force on the day following the date of its publication.

Issued on: 29 Dhu Al-Hijja 1444
Corresponding to: 17 July 2023

Haitham bin Tarik
Sultan of Oman

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