Article 11 of the Saudi Social Security Law
المادة 11 من نظام الضمان الاجتماعي · الباب الثالث: آلية الاحتساب والاستحقاق
The article bars any beneficiary other than the breadwinner from being in more than one family, as the Implementing Regulations specify.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
لا يجوز لأي مستفيد، غير العائل، أن يكون في أكثر من أسرة، وفقاً لما تحدده اللائحة.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 11 explained in plain English
This article sets a rule to prevent one person being registered more than once in more than one family. No beneficiary other than the breadwinner may be in more than one family.
To understand the rule, refer to the definitions in Article 1:
- Family: a breadwinner and one or more dependents living in one dwelling.
- Breadwinner: a person who takes care of his dependents and supports them, whether a man or a woman.
- Dependent: a person who falls under the breadwinner's care, responsibility, and support.
A dependent, such as a son or wife, is therefore in one family only and is not counted in two.
The breadwinner is excepted by the text from this bar. The reason becomes clear from Article 12, which provides that if a breadwinner has more than one family, each family is considered independent and is entitled to an independent pension, as the Regulations specify. A breadwinner who supports two families can therefore be in each of them.
The article refers to the Implementing Regulations for the details of applying this rule, such as how to determine the family to which a dependent is attributed when there is more than one possibility. The article itself does not set the criterion for this choice.
Practical example
Salman supports two families: a wife and children in Jeddah, and another wife and children in Taif. As the breadwinner, Salman may be in both families. His adult 20-year-old son, however, may not be registered as a dependent in both families at once, but in one family only, as the Regulations specify.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Frequently asked questions about Article 11 of the Saudi Social Security Law
Can a son be registered in two families in social security?
No. No beneficiary other than the breadwinner may be in more than one family.
Can the breadwinner be in more than one family?
Yes. The bar does not cover the breadwinner, and Article 12 makes each family of a breadwinner with several families an independent family entitled to an independent pension.
Who decides which family a person belongs to?
The article refers the details of application to the Implementing Regulations.
More articles on Social Security Eligibility Conditions
- Article 9
The article sets four conditions for entitlement to the pension: Saudi nationality and permanent residence, calculated income below the minimum, the wealth criteria, and compliance with the Ministry's requirements.
يستحق المعاش كل من استوفى الشروط الآتية: 1- أن يكون سعودياً مقيماً إقامة دائمة في المملكة، وفقاً لما تحدده اللائحة من ضوابط. 2- أن يقل الدخل المحتسب للمستقل أو
- Article 10
The article excepts specific categories from the nationality requirement, including a non-Saudi woman married to a Saudi and a non-Saudi widow or divorcee with Saudi children.
يستثنى من شرط الجنسية الفئات الآتية: 1- المرأة غير السعودية المتزوجة من سعودي. 2- الأرملة أو المطلقة غير السعودية ولها أبناء سعوديون. 3- أبناء الأرملة أو المطلق
- Article 12
The article provides that each family of a breadwinner with several families is independent with its own pension, and that a family member studying outside the family's city does not affect its entitlement.
1- إذا كان للعائل أكثر من أسرة، فتُعدّ كل أسرة مستقلة وتستحق معاشاً مستقلاً، وفقاً لما تحدده اللائحة. 2- لا يؤثر في استحقاق الأسرة للمعاش كون أحد أفرادها يقيم -
- Article 13
The article lets the family choose another qualified breadwinner if, under the Regulations' mechanism, the breadwinner is shown to lack capacity or to be incapacitated by an illness that makes it hard to manage the pension.
إذا ثبت -وفق الآلية التي تحددها اللائحة- عدم أهلية العائل أو عجزه لمرض يصعب معه التصرف في المعاش؛ فيجوز للأسرة أن تختار من تجد فيه الأهلية ليكون العائل.
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.