The government is moving towards a complete exemption of retirement pensions from income tax by 2026.
In a new step aimed at supporting retirees and enhancing their purchasing power, Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah announced that the draft finance law for 2025 includes a gradual measure to fully exempt pensions granted by the basic pension systems from income tax by the year 2026, with an additional financial cost estimated at 1.2 billion dirhams to be borne by the state’s general budget.
The minister explained, in a written response to a parliamentary question raised by the head of the Haraki group in the House of Representatives, Idriss Senitini, that the implementation of this measure will occur in two phases: the first phase will begin in January 2025 by reducing the tax due on pensions by 50%, followed by the second phase which will take effect on January 1, 2026, where a complete exemption of 100% will be applied.
Fettah confirmed that this measure is expected to cover more than 750,000 retirees, representing a significant step in responding to their just social demands. She also reminded that this category has benefited in recent years from consecutive reviews in tax exemption rates, which reached 70% before tax calculation, in addition to a 5% increase in the value of pensions granted by the National Social Security Fund in 2022, with a minimum increase of 100 dirhams retroactive from January 2020.
In the same context, the minister highlighted that the government approved Decree No. 2.25.265 after the law 02.24 came into effect, which enabled a group of retirees, whose coverage days range between 1,320 and 3,240 days, to benefit from the old-age pension provided by the National Social Security Fund. It is expected that the number of beneficiaries from these measures over the next ten years will exceed 200,000 individuals, with an estimated total cost of nearly 10 billion dirhams.
Fettah added that the National Social Security Fund has already started settling the files of beneficiaries, either through its digital platform “Compensation” or through its regional agencies. She also confirmed that the government is continuing with the process of unifying basic health coverage systems under the supervision of the National Social Security Fund, through draft law 54.23 currently presented to Parliament, which aims to improve the quality of health services, simplify administrative procedures, and enhance coordination between various stakeholders.
