UAE: Some retired citizens struggle with cost of living, lawmaker calls for support

The widening economic gap between Emiratis who retired before and after 2008 was the centre of discussion during a Federal National Council (FNC) session on Wednesday. Member Saeed Al Abedi raised concerns over the financial strain facing earlier retirees and highlighted the rising cost of living.
He urged the Ministry of Community Development to take stronger action to ensure all citizens can live with dignity. The FNC member also argued that low-income retired Emirati men should not be made to depend on their wives, even if the latter are employed.
In the UAE, a government policy that excludes financial aid to low-income retired men if their wives are employed. Al Abedi argued this policy undermines traditional family roles and leaves retired husbands unsupported. "You will say I have a backward mentality?" Saeed Al Abedi said. "That's fine. I'd rather be backwards with dignity than modern without dignity."
Al Abedi argued that women should not be financially responsible for supporting the household, even if they work. He said that when they do contribute, they are doing the household a favour, not a duty. He criticised the policy for unfairly expecting women to take on this role. "It is not the woman's role to finance the household."
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According to him, the policy deprives men of support if their wives earn an income. He urged the Ministry of Community Development to raise the pensions of retired men who are paid less than their wives to maintain financial balance within families. "Does any of you accept to live off his wife?" he asked fellow members.
Widening economic gap
When highlighting the issue of the growing economic gap, Al Abedi also questioned the effectiveness of current social support measures.
'Many pre-2008 retirees are living on low incomes that don't match the country's current lifestyle,' he said. 'This reflects negatively on them and their families.' He pointed out that post-2008 retirees had benefited from significant wage adjustments that were not extended to those who retired earlier.
He asked Minister of Community Development Shamma Al Mazrui what steps the ministry has taken to bridge this disparity.
In a written response read during the session, Minister Al Mazrui said that the ministry had restructured its social support programme in 2022 for all low-income Emirati families, including retirees, through financial allocations and cost-of-living allowances. The programme targets all Emirati families whose monthly household income falls below the national 'decent living threshold.'
The ministry stated that retirees over the age of 60 now qualify for up to Dh13,000 monthly as the base allowance for a head of household, up from the previous cap of Dh5,000. This is in addition to support for working or recently retired citizens with limited income, whose benefits rise incrementally depending on years of service, starting from Dh5,000 and increasing by Dh2,000 for every 10 years, up to Dh13,000.
Additional monthly allowances include:
Inflation-related support is also provided to families with monthly incomes under Dh25,000, covering fuel, electricity, water, and food prices. Fuel subsidies alone can reach up to Dh900 per month depending on market prices, and food allowances include Dh500 for the head of household, Dh500 for a citizen wife, and Dh250 for each child under 21 (up to four children).
'What kind of empowerment is this?'
But Al Abedi dismissed these measures as insufficient, arguing they still exclude many of the earlier retirees. 'What kind of empowerment is the ministry talking about exactly?' he asked. 'Empowerment is enabling someone to live with comfort.'
He cited a figure previously mentioned by the Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, as the benchmark for a decent minimum income.
In 2018, Sheikh Sultan reportedly stated that Dh17,500 is the minimum monthly income required to live with dignity in the UAE, and ordered that all Sharjah retirees receive at least that amount. Al Abedi argued that Dh17,500 at the time is worth over Dh21,000 today, due to inflation, and questioned why federal retirees had not seen comparable adjustments.
'If one of them goes to the bank to apply for a loan, he will not see a single dirham,' he said. 'I wish to understand one thing, somebody please explain to me: based on what factor are children's allowances subtracted from pensions? Why are we deeming them expired?'
He added that some Emiratis are forced to retire early due to health reasons and still wish to have children, yet their family benefits are cut off once they leave the workforce. 'Some retire while still in their youth,' he said. 'And they are still capable of reproducing children.'

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