Saudi Arabia to launch retirement and savings plan for employees
The new system will apply to both Saudis and expats
Recent reports suggest that Saudi Arabia is planning to launch a new pension and savings plan for all employees, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest Article IV consultation report. This is everything we know about the Saudi retirement and savings plan for employees.
First cited by Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper and then Saudi Gazette, the program has been thoughtfully designed to boost household savings for both Saudis and expats.
Despite heightened uncertainty and regional tensions, Saudi Arabia’s economy remains resilient to shocks and its diversification efforts continue. Non-oil real GDP expanded by 4.5%, inflation is contained, and unemployment reached record low levels. https://t.co/D6LzH5sKHz pic.twitter.com/sPmyt3qe4g
— IMF Middle East & North Africa (@IMFinMENA) August 4, 2025
With the new program, the Kingdom aims to decrease the outflow of workers’ remittances abroad. The public pension and savings program is expected to be unveiled soon.
Foreign remittances from Saudi Arabia rose 14 per cent last year to SAR144.2 billion ($38.4 billion). Whereas over the past decade (2015–2024), they totalled SAR1.43 trillion.
The original report from the IMF states that the recently implemented pension reforms, approved back in July 2024, are expected to strengthen long-term financial sustainability. The reforms included increasing the retirement age, extending contribution periods, increasing contribution rates, and restricting pension benefits.
The newly introduced changes are highly unlikely to affect or generate immediate fiscal savings since the system is currently balanced; the IMF stressed the need to fully assess and disclose the medium-term impact.
The forthcoming Saudi retirement and savings plan for employees was described as a new step towards improving household savings reducing external remittances.
Visit: gosi.gov.sa
Images: Getty
