HM the Sultan issues two Royal decrees

Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on Monday issued two Royal decrees reading as follows:

Royal Decree No. 50/2023 promulgates the Social Protection Fund's Bylaw.

Article (1) states that the provisions of the system/bylaw attached to this decree shall be applied to the Social Protection Fund.

Article (2) transfers the following to the Social Protection Fund: The duties, origins, specialisations, assets, rights, obligations, financial receivables and their related data of the Pension Fund of the Ministry of Defence, the Pension Fund of the Royal Office, the Pension Fund of the Royal Oman Police, the Pension Fund of the Internal Security Service, the Pension Fund of the Royal Guard of Oman, the Pension Fund of the Sultan's Special Force, the Pension Fund of the Diwan of Royal Court and the Civil Service Employees' Pension Fund.

This is in exclusion of the premises of the Defense Ministry's Pension Fund and assets that will be agreed about by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pension Fund of the Military and Security Apparatuses. These will be transferred to the Pension Fund of the Military and Security Apparatuses.

The Social Protection Fund will have the following transferred to it: Duties, specialisations, origins, rights, obligations, receivables and data related to the Public Authority for Social Insurance—along with settlement of differences between ratios of financing of the funds mentioned in the previous clause, ratios of financing of the Public Authority for Social Insurance and the registration of the settlement sum in the financial lists of the Social Protection Fund as a deserved asset—provided an agreement be signed to secure all details of the abovementioned settlement with the Public Authority for Social Insurance.

The Social Protection Fund will have the following transferred to it: obligations calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Social Protection Law within the pension programme of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and the pension programme of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), along with related data.

Also to be transferred to the Social Protection Law are assets equivalent to these obligations from the PDO and the CBO, provided two agreements to this effect be signed to cover all details of such transfer.

The Social Protection Fund will also have the following transferred to it: The rights and obligations related to the project on restructuring funds and systems of retirement and social protection that are secured under the National Fiscal Balance Programme and the National Programme for Fiscal Sustainability and Financial Sector Development.

Article (3) states that the Social Protection Fund shall be a general and integrated legal successor of the funds, the Public Authority for Social Insurance and the programmes stated in Article 2 of this decree, within the context of all contracts, agreements, investments, partnerships and alliances forged or entered into by those parties within the Sultanate of Oman and abroad.

This legal succession stated in Article 2 of this decree shall not entail changing the end-beneficiaries of the abovementioned origins, assets, obligations and programmes.

Article (4) stipulates that the employees stated below shall be transferred to the Social Protection Fund, along with their financial grades and allocations: employees of the Diwan of Royal Court’s Pension Fund, the Civil Service Employees’ Fund and the Public Authority for Social Insurance.

Following a decision by the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund, as per its needs and after coordination with heads of units, it is permissible to transfer to the Social Protection Fund any employees from the aforementioned funds or any specialised staff from the Social Development Ministry’s Directorate General of Social Welfare.

Article (5) instructs the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund to issue the regulations and decisions necessary for the enforcement of provisions of the bylaw/system attached to this decree. Till such time, the existing regulations and decisions shall continue to be enforced without prejudice to the attached bylaw’s provisions.

Article (6) states that the phrase “Social Protection Fund” shall replace the following “phrases” wherever they might occur in the abovementioned laws and Royal decrees: “Pension Fund of the Ministry of Defence”, “Pension Fund of the Royal Office”, “Pension Fund of the Royal Oman Police”, “Pension Fund of the Internal Security Service”, “Pension Fund of the Royal Guard of Oman”, “Pension Fund of the Sultan’s Special Force”, “Pension Fund of the of the Diwan of Royal Court” and the “Civil Service Employees’ Pension Fund”.

Article (7) dissolves the boards of directors of pension funds, the board of directors of the Public Authority for Social Insurance and pension programmes stated in Article 2 of this decree.

Article (8) cancels all pension funds and the Public Authority for Social Insurance that emanate vide Royal decrees No. 45/80, 26/86, 72/91, 3/93, 6/93, 87/93, 7/94, 101/94 and 86/96, as well as pension programme of Petroleum Development Oman, the pension programme of the Central Bank of Oman—after the transfer of ownership of all their origins/assets to the Social Protection Fund.

This article also states that a decision shall be issued by the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund to state the completion of transfer of such ownerships, and decision shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Article (9) cancels all that contradicts this decree or the attached bylaw/system or contravenes their provisions.

Article (10) says that this decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and enforced from the day following its date of publishing.

Royal Decree No. 51/2023 promulgates the bylaw of the Pension Fund of Military and Security Apparatuses.

Article (1) states the provisions of the attached bylaw/system shall be applied to the Pension Fund of Military and Security Apparatuses.

Article (2) transfers to the Pension Fund of Military and Security Apparatuses the employees of the following departments, along with their ranks, grades and financial allocations: the Pension Fund of the Ministry of Defence, the Pension Fund of the Royal Office, the Pension Fund of the Royal Oman Police, the Pension Fund of the of the Internal Security Service, the Pension Fund of the Royal Guard of Oman and the Pension Fund of the Sultan’s Special Force.

The enforcement of provisions of this article shall be in accordance with the mechanism and regulations that will be endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Pension Fund of Military and Security Apparatuses, after liaising with heads and commanders of units in the military and security apparatuses.

Article (3) instructs the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Pension Fund of the Military and Security Apparatuses to issue the regulations and decisions necessary for the implementation of provisions of the attached bylaw/system. Till such time, the existing regulations and decisions shall continue to be enforced without prejudice to the bylaw’s provisions.

Article (4) states that the phrases “Pension Fund of the Ministry of Defence”, “Pension Fund of the Royal Office”, “Pension Fund of the Royal Oman Police”, “Pension Fund of the Internal Security Service”, “Pension Fund of the Royal Guard of Oman” and Pension Fund of the Sultan’s Special Force” shall be replaced by the phrase “Pension Fund of the Military and Security Apparatuses”, wherever those phrases might occur in the enforced laws and Royal decrees, and within the purview of enforcement of the Pension Fund of the Military and Security Apparatuses’ powers stated in the attached bylaw.

Article (5) cancels all that contradicts this decree or the attached bylaw/system or contravenes their provisions.

Article (6) says that this decree shall be published in the Official Gazette and enforced from the day following its date of publishing. -ONA