GPSSA pension age and eligibility

The GPSSA old-age pension

GPSSA pays an old-age pension once an insured person reaches 60 years of age with at least 15 years of insurance service behind them (Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023, art. 1 and art. 13(1)(b)). Both conditions apply to men and women alike — the law states one flat age for everyone.

There is no route to a pension on years of service alone, at any age. Every entitlement case art. 13(1) lists that names a service period also names an age or a triggering event — death, disability, unfitness for work, or dismissal — so service by itself is never enough on its own.

Who this section covers

GPSSA administers this scheme for UAE nationals, and — under separate GCC unified-insurance arrangements administered by the same authority — for nationals of other Gulf Cooperation Council states working in the UAE, across both government and private employment. It does not cover expatriates. An expatriate’s equivalent is the end-of-service gratuity, paid when employment ends rather than at retirement age — see our end-of-service gratuity guide and the full guide to gratuity and pensions in the UAE.

If you were insured before 31 October 2023

Everything on this page describes Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023, which applies to anyone newly insured on or after its 31 October 2023 commencement. Anyone already insured — or already receiving a pension or gratuity — under the earlier Federal Law No. 7 of 1999 stays on that law’s own, separate rates and rules (art. 2(2)), which this site does not currently cover.

One structural exception outside either law: nationals based and employed in Abu Dhabi have their pensions managed by the separate Abu Dhabi Pension Fund rather than GPSSA.

Next

• How the pension amount is calculated — the averaging window, the accrual rates, and the statutory minimum.
• Early retirement — the two named routes and why neither is reduced.