Pensions & end of service: UAE legislation

Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023 Regarding an Alternative End-of-Service Benefits System

Lets private-sector employers, including free zone employers, opt out of the gratuity system and instead pay monthly contributions into SCA-licensed investment funds: 5.83% of basic salary for employees with under five years' service and 8.33% thereafter, with voluntary employee top-ups and a mandatory capital-guaranteed option. Gratuity accrued before joining is preserved.

Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023 Concerning Pension and Social Security

The GPSSA pension law for UAE nationals joining a covered employer after it took effect; those already insured under Federal Law No. 7 of 1999 stay under that law. Contributions total 26% of subscription salary (15% employer, 11% employee), the government bearing 2.5% of the private employer's share below AED 20,000. Employers register national hires within 30 days.

DIFC Employment Regulations 2022 (Qualifying Scheme requirements under Article 66 of the Employment Law) – Consolidated Version No. 3

Made under Articles 9(1) and 66 of the Employment Law 2019, the Regulations set the conditions a workplace savings scheme must meet to be a Qualifying Scheme, deem the DIFC Employee Workplace Savings Plan (DEWS) qualifying, regulate supervisory bodies, contributions, transfers and certificates of compliance or exemption, and fix fines on employers who breach Article 66.

Employment Law, DIFC Law No. 2 of 2019

Repeals and replaces the Employment Law 2005 for employers and employees based in or ordinarily working in the DIFC: contracts, working time, leave, discrimination, termination, penalties for late payment and the Article 66 workplace savings regime that replaced end-of-service gratuity. Enacted 30 May 2019, in force 90 days later; Consolidated Version No. 5, July 2025.