Article 7 of the Saudi Military Retirement Law

This is one of the most important articles in the Law, as it determines when a military person is entitled to a pension. There are three cases:

First case (item 1): he is entitled to a pension if any of the following is met:

• his actual service provided for in paragraph (a) of Article 4 reaches 18 years, or
• his actual military and civil service reaches 20 years, provided the military part is not less than 8 years, or
• he completes 55 years of age.

Second case (item 2): his actual service under paragraph (a) of Article 4 reaches 15 years, or his military and civil service reaches 15 years provided the military part is not less than 8 years, and in addition one of two things applies:

• his retirement is at his request and with the Minister's approval, or
• he was dismissed in the interest of the service under the military service laws, provided he was not dismissed because of absence, by a disciplinary ruling, or by operation of law for committing a crime.

Third case (item 3): his service ended because of death, incapacity for work, or reaching the statutory retirement age, whatever the length of his service.

Paragraph (b): if the total of his military and civil service periods does not reach the period for which a pension is due, the award for his military service is settled under the Military Retirement Law, and for his civil service under the Civil Retirement Law in force at the time his last service ended, and the total of the two awards is paid from the Military Retirement Fund.

Paragraph (a) of Article 4 covers actual service in the military forces for which retirement revenues are collected, including the period of secondment provided the revenues are collected for it. Article 8 then explains how the pension is calculated. To assess a particular case, one may consult a lawyer specializing in administrative cases.