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Updated August 2023

GOSI, the General Organization for Social Insurance in Saudi Arabia, serves as a vital entity in delivering extensive social insurance solutions to both Saudi citizens and expatriates employed in the nation. With the primary objective of protecting the well-being and economic stability of individuals and their families, GOSI offers a wide array of benefits, including disability compensation, unemployment assistance, and healthcare coverage, ensuring that contributors receive essential support in times of need.

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Read on as Wego delves into everything you need to know about GOSI Saudi.

Table of Contents

GOSI Saudi 2023

GOSI, or the General Organization for Social Insurance, operates as an autonomous governmental body in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and assumes financial and administrative independence while offering social protection and insurance services. The organisation operates under the governance of a board of directors, with the Minister of Finance serving as its head. The headquarters of GOSI is situated in Riyadh.

In Saudi Arabia, GOSI is responsible for implementing various laws and regulations related to social insurance, including the Social Insurance Law, its branches, Executive Regulations, as well as the Civil and Military Pension Laws. These provisions are applicable to all Saudi Military and Civil employees whose salaries are funded from the government budget or public agency budgets. Additionally, the laws also apply to Saudi employees in private sector establishments and are optional for the self-employed.

GOSI operates and conducts all its operations from its main office in Riyadh. It maintains 21 field offices situated in various locations throughout the KSA region.

GOSI Saudi registration

Registering in GOSI portal is necessary if you want to track all the contribution deposits your employer makes. Moreover, it also allows you to print your GOSI salary certificate.

To register for GOSI Saudi, follow the steps given below:

visit the GOSI online Registration portal
select the beneficiary type from the three given options – Contributor, Establishment, or Hospital
click on ‘Register’
enter all the required details, including, Iqama number, phone number, email address and password
enter the Captcha accurately and click on ‘Proceed’
validate your details by entering the code you receive and complete your registration

GOSI Saudi calculation

GOSI is calculated on the basis of the monthly basic salary and monthly housing allowances of the employee. Furthermore, the calculation is independent of whether the sector is private or government-owned.

The two methods of GOSI calculation are as follows:

GOSI calculation for Saudi nationals
GOSI Calculation for expatriates

Saudi nationals

The contribution made on behalf of the individual by both the employee and employer amount to 22 percent of the basic salary and housing allowances. The distribution of this 22 percent is as follows:

collected from the employee on account of the annuity (pension) – 9 percent
collected from the employer on account of the annuity (pension) – 9 percent
collected by the employee on account of unemployment contribution – 1 percent
collected by the employer on account of unemployment contribution – 1 percent
collected by the employer on account of occupational hazards – 2 percent

Expatriates

Only the employers are responsible for collecting the contribution for expatriates, which amounts to 2 percent of their applicable earnings, that is, their basic salary and housing allowances. The contribution range varies between SAR 400 to SAR 45,000.

Please note that the calculation of GOSI varies across the different regions of GCC.

GOSI Saudi benefits

The primary purpose of establishing the General Organisation for Social Insurance is to provide top-notch social insurance benefits to contributors and their families. Hence, some of the GOSI benefits enjoyed by Saudi nationals and expatriates include:

Saudi nationals

Given below are some of the benefits enjoyed by Saudi nationals on registering with GOSI:

Medical insurance benefits

As per the Social Insurance Law, Saudi nationals who have suffered an occupational hazard are given comprehensive treatment, including diagnoses, treatments, medicine, medical supplies and prosthetics until the individual has recovered completely. An injury is considered to be an occupational hazard in the following cases:

an accident sustained by the contributor during work or from which it resulted.
an accident sustained by the contributor on his way from his residence to his place of work and vice versa, or while en route from his place of work to the place where he eats his meals or performs his prayers and vice versa.
an accident sustained by the contributor during his movements in order to perform the tasks entrusted to him by the employer.
any disease sustained by the contributor found to be caused by work.
any disease sustained by the contributor specified in the table of occupational diseases.

Daily allowance benefits

In case an individual sustains an occupational injury while working, resulting in temporary disability, they are entitled to receive a daily allowance. The allowance can be as high as 100% of the individual’s daily wage for each day of disability. However, if GOSI covers the individual’s treatment expenses, the daily allowance provided is 75% of their daily wage for each day of disability.

Please note that this allowance is applicable only if the injured person is admitted as an in-patient or is on sick leave.

Total permanent disability benefits

If an individual experiences total permanent disability due to an occupational hazard, they are entitled to receive a monthly compensation equivalent to 100% of their average wage from the last three months before the injury occurred. The eligibility for total permanent disability benefits is assessed periodically over a 5-year period by a qualified medical board. After five years, there is a reassessment to determine if the individual still qualifies for the benefit.

If the medical board concludes that the injured person requires the assistance of others, they will also receive compensation for that assistance. The eligibility for the Assistance of Others allowance is medically evaluated at regular intervals for a duration of 10 years, and if, after ten years, the medical board still deems the individual in need of assistance, this allowance becomes permanent.

Unemployment benefits

GOSI provides an unemployment insurance program known as “Saned” for those who are unemployed and meet certain criteria. To be eligible, individuals must be:

Saudi nationals
registered under the Social Insurance Law
have left their jobs due to circumstances beyond their control.

Under the “Saned” program, unemployed individuals can apply for benefits within 90 days of quitting their job. During the transitional period between jobs, beneficiaries receive monthly compensation. For the initial 3 months of unemployment, GOSI offers a maximum amount of SAR 9000, and for each subsequent month, the compensation is up to SAR 7500. However, the compensation can only be received continuously or intermittently for a maximum period of 12 months.

Please note that this scheme offers social protection to Saudi nationals employed in both the government and private sectors.

Voluntary contribution

Under the voluntary contribution scheme, individuals can enjoy the following benefits:

Old-age retirement pension:

The contributor is entitled to an old-age pension according to the following conditions:

attaining the age of sixty or over.
ceasing the practice of activity, or discontinuing contribution for that who has a previous compulsory contribution period.
having a contribution period of no less than 120 months.

Early retirement pension

The contributor is entitled to an early retirement pension before reaching the age of 60 under the following conditions:

having a contribution period of no less than 300 months.
ceasing the practice of activity on which they were registered with the scheme, not practising any other activity covered by the scheme, or discontinuing to pay a contribution for those who have a previous compulsory contribution period
apply for pension payment.

Non-occupational disability pension

If the contributor is completely and permanently incapable of carrying out their regular occupation or any other occupation suitable for their condition, they qualify as disabled and can receive a disability pension, provided they fulfil the following requirements:

if the contributor started contributing before they reached the age of 50, the disability must have been sustained while having a contribution period no less than 12 consecutive months or 18 inconsecutive months after their actual registration date with GOSI.
if the contributor started contributing before they reached the age of 50 or above, the disability must have been sustained while having a contribution period no less than 24 consecutive months or 36 inconsecutive months after their actual registration date with GOSI.
the disability pension is calculated the same way that the retirement pension is calculated, provided that the amount is no less than 50 percent of the average wage over the last 2 years.
if the disability occurred after the contributor leaves employment covered under the scheme and has at least 60 months of contribution, they are entitled to apply for adding the complementary period to reach 120 months. In this case, they will be paid a retirement pension.

Death pension

The survivors of a deceased contributor are entitled to a death pension in the following cases:

if the pensioner receiving a retirement pension or a non-occupational disability pension died.
if the contributor started contributing before they reached the age of 50, he must have a contribution period no less than 3 consecutive months or 6 inconsecutive months after their actual registration date with GOSI.
if the contributor started contributing at the age of 50 or above, he must have a contribution period of no less than 12 consecutive months or 18 inconsecutive months after his actual registration date with GOSI.
the death pension is calculated with the same method of calculating the non-occupational disability pension.
in the event of the contributor’s death after leaving employment covered under the scheme and having a contribution period of no less than 60 months, the family members are entitled to apply for adding the complementary period to reach 120 months. In this case, they will be paid a retirement pension.

For more information on GOSI benefits for Saudi nationals, please visit the General Organization for Social Insurance website

Expatriates

Given below are some of the benefits enjoyed by expatriates on registering with GOSI:

Occupational hazard benefits

If a non-Saudi contributor suffers a work-related injury, they will receive a one-time lump sum compensation instead of ongoing benefits, as outlined below:

if the injury leads to a permanent total disability (100%), the injured individual is eligible for a lump sum compensation equivalent to 84 months of the benefit value they were entitled to, capped at a maximum of SAR 330,000. The calculation considers the amount of the assistance of others allowance determined by the competent medical board.
in the case of a partial disability with a percentage ranging from 50% to 99%, the injured person is entitled to a lump sum compensation equal to 60 months of the assumed benefit value, up to a maximum of SAR 165,000.
if the injury results in the death of the contributor, their family members receive a lump sum compensation equal to 84 months of the benefit the contributor was supposed to receive, capped at a maximum of SAR 330,000. This compensation is distributed equally among the family members.

Permanent disability benefits

If the disability percentage is below 50 percent, whether the injured person is Saudi or non-Saudi, they are eligible for a lump sum compensation. The calculation is based on multiplying the percentage of disability by the total disability value, with the following limitations:

if the injured contributor is under the age of 40, they receive a lump sum compensation equal to 60 times the monthly benefit value (total disability benefit × disability percentage × 60).
if the contributor is over 40 years old, the compensation is reduced by the number of monthly benefits corresponding to the years exceeding 40, ensuring that the compensation does not fall below 36 times its value.

Please note that the total lump sum compensation, as mentioned above, must not exceed SAR 165,000.

For more information on GOSI benefits for expatriates, please visit the General Organization for Social Insurance website.

GOSI Saudi contribution certificate

A GOSI contribution certificate is a document that contains a contributor’s wages and tenure of contribution. It can be obtained via the General Organization for Social Insurance e-service portal, enabling contributors to issue a certificate including the periods and wages of the contributor subject to the establishment’s system.

A GOSI contribution certificate can be obtained by following the steps given below:

log in to your GOSI account
enter the details of your contributor’s account.
click on ‘Issue of certificates.
select the type of certificate you need that is, “Contributor insurance terms and wages”
download the certificate