Iran

Old Age, Disability, and Survivors

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1953.

Current laws: 1975 (social security), and 1986 (self-employed insurance), implemented in 1987.

Type of program: Social insurance system.

Coverage

All employed and self-employed persons. Self-employed persons may choose different levels of coverage for old-age, disability, and survivor benefits.

Voluntary coverage for previously insured persons up to age 55 with at least 30 days of coverage and for commercial drivers.

Special systems for government employees and military personnel.

Source of Funds

Insured person: 7% of earnings. Voluntarily insured persons contribute 26% of earnings for old-age and survivor benefits; commercial drivers contribute 13.5% of earnings.

The minimum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions for salaried employees are 3,894,000 rials.

The insured's contributions also finance medical, sickness, maternity, and work injury benefits.

Self-employed person: 18% of earnings; 12% of earnings (old age); or 14% of earnings (old age and survivor).

Employer: 20% of payroll. To subsidize certain strategic industries, the government pays the employer's contributions for up to five employees per company.

The minimum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions for salaried employees are 3,894,000 rials.

The employer's contributions also finance medical, sickness, maternity, and work injury benefits.

Government: 3% of payroll, including voluntarily insured persons; 13.5% of payroll for commercial drivers. The government pays the employer's contributions for up to five employees per company for certain strategic industries.

The minimum monthly earnings used to calculate contributions for salaried employees are 3,894,000 rials.

Qualifying Conditions

Old-age pension: Age 60 (men) or age 55 (women) with at least 20 years of contributions; age 50 (men) or age 45 (women) with at least 30 years of contributions; at any age with at least 35 years of contributions; at any age with at least 20 continuous years or 25 noncontinuous years of work in an unhealthy working environment or in a physically demanding natural environment. Insured women aged 42 with at least 20 years of contributions receive a reduced pension.

Employment must cease.

Disability pension: Must be assessed with a total disability (loss of at least 66% earning capacity).

Pension supplement: Paid if the pension is less than 60% of the insured's average earnings and the insured has dependents.

Survivor pension: The deceased was an old-age or total disability pensioner at the time of death, had at least one year of paid contributions in the last 10 years, including at least 90 days in the year before death, or a total of at least 20 years of contributions.

Eligible survivors include a widow or dependent widower, children younger than age 18 (age 20 if a student, no limit if disabled), an unmarried daughter, and aged dependent parents (a father older than age 60, a mother older than age 55).

Survivor grant: Paid if the insured does not meet the qualifying conditions for a survivor pension and had more than 10 years but less than 20 years of contributions.

Old-Age Benefits

Old-age pension: 3.33% of the insured's average earnings in the last two years multiplied by the number of years of contributions is paid. The maximum number of years used to calculate the pension is 35.

For insured persons working in difficult or hazardous occupations, each year of paid contributions counts as 1.5 years.

The minimum pension is the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to wage changes.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Disability pension: The pension is 3.33% of the insured's average earnings in the last two years multiplied by the number of years of contributions.

The minimum pension is 50% of the insured's average earnings or 100% of the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

The maximum pension is 100% of the insured's average earnings.

Pension supplement: 10% of the pension is paid, up to a total pension plus supplement of 60% of the insured's average earnings.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to changes in the cost of living.

Survivor Benefits

Survivor pension: 50% of the old-age or disability pension the deceased received or was eligible to receive is paid to the widow(er). If there is more than one legitimate widow, the pension is split equally.

Orphan's pension: 25% of the old-age or disability pension the deceased received or was eligible to receive is paid for each eligible orphan (50% for a full orphan).

Parent's pension: 20% of the old-age or disability pension the deceased received or was eligible to receive is paid for each eligible parent.

The minimum total survivor pension is the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

All survivor benefits combined must not exceed 100% of the old-age or disability pension the deceased received or was eligible to receive.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to changes in the cost of living.

Survivor grant: A lump sum of one month of the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is paid for each year of service.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

Funeral grant: A lump sum of one month of the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is paid.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

Administrative Organization

Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare provides general supervision.

Social Security Organization (http://www.tamin.ir) administers the program through provincial branch offices and local agencies.

Sickness and Maternity

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1949.

Current laws: 1975 (social security) and 1986 (self-employed insurance), implemented in 1987.

Type of program: Social insurance system.

Coverage

All employed persons.

Special systems for government employees and military personnel.

Source of Funds

Insured person: See source of funds under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Self-employed person: Pays a contribution set by the Social Security Organization for medical benefits.

Employer: See source of funds under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Government: See source of funds under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Qualifying Conditions

Cash sickness and medical benefits: There is no minimum qualifying period.

Cash maternity benefits: Must have at least 60 days of contributions in the year before the expected date of childbirth for the first three children.

Sickness and Maternity Benefits

Sickness benefit: 75% of the insured's average earnings in the three months before the sickness began is paid for a worker with dependents; 66% with no dependents.

The benefit is reduced to 50% of the insured's average earnings if unmarried and hospitalized in a Social Security Organization hospital; there is no reduction if the insured person has dependents.

The benefit is paid after a three-day waiting period (unless hospitalized) until recovery.

Maternity benefit: 66% of the insured woman's average earnings in the three months before the birth is paid for up to six months (one year for triplets).

Workers' Medical Benefits

Medical benefits

Social Security Organization medical facilities provide medical care and medicine.

Dental grant: 300,000 rials for a half set of dentures or 600,000 rials for a full set is paid.

Public and private hospitals and clinics, as well as university hospitals and contracted-out physicians, provide medical services. Cost sharing and rates of reimbursement vary depending on the service.

Dependents' Medical Benefits

Medical benefits for dependents

Medical benefits for dependents are the same as those for the insured.

Eligible dependents include a wife and the first three children younger than age 18 (age 20 if a student, no limit if disabled); an unmarried daughter; a disabled, dependent husband older than age 60; and aged dependent parents.

Administrative Organization

Social Security Organization (http://www.tamin.ir) administers the program.

Work Injury

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1936.

Current law: 1975 (social security).

Type of program: Social insurance system.

Coverage

All employed persons.

Exclusions: Self-employed persons.

Special systems for government employees and military personnel.

Source of Funds

Insured person: See source of funds under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Self-employed person: Not applicable.

Employer: See source of funds under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Government: See source of funds under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Qualifying Conditions

Work injury benefits: There is no minimum qualifying period.

Temporary Disability Benefits

The daily benefit is 75% of the insured's last daily wage for a worker with dependents; 66% for a worker without dependents.

The benefit is reduced to 50% of the insured's last daily wage if the insured is hospitalized in a Social Security Organization hospital.

The benefit is paid from the first day of incapacity until recovery or certification of permanent disability.

Permanent Disability Benefits

Permanent disability pension: For an assessed degree of disability of at least 66%, 3.33% of the insured's average earnings in the last two years multiplied by the number of years of contributions is paid.

The minimum pension is 50% of the insured's average earnings or 100% of the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

The maximum pension is 100% of the insured's average earnings.

Pension supplement: If the pension is less than 60% of the insured's average earnings and the insured has dependents, an additional 10% of the pension is paid, up to 60% of the insured's average earnings.

Partial disability: For an assessed degree of disability of 33% to 66%, a percentage of the full disability pension is paid according to the assessed degree of disability.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to changes in the cost of living.

Disability grant: For an assessed degree of disability of 10% to 33% or a disability that is the result of losing a limb, a lump sum of 36 times the full disability pension multiplied by the assessed degree of disability is paid.

Workers' Medical Benefits

Social Security Organization medical facilities provide patients with medical care and medicine. There is no qualifying period for prostheses.

Survivor Benefits

Survivor pension: 50% of the deceased's pension is paid to a widow or dependent widower. The deceased's pension is 3.33% of the insured's average earnings in the last two years multiplied by the number of years of contributions.

Orphan's pension: 25% of the deceased's pension (50% for a full orphan) is paid for each orphan younger than age 18 (no age limit for a student or if disabled) and to an unmarried daughter.

Parent's pension: 20% of the deceased's pension is paid for each dependent aged parent (a father older than age 60 or disabled; a mother older than age 55 or disabled).

The minimum survivor pension is 50% of the insured's average earnings or 100% of the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

All survivor benefits combined must not exceed 100% of the deceased's pension.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to changes in the cost of living.

Funeral grant: A lump sum of one month of the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is paid.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

Administrative Organization

Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare provides general supervision.

Social Security Organization (http://www.tamin.ir) administers the program through provincial branch offices and local agencies.

Unemployment

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1987.

Current law: 1990 (unemployment insurance).

Type of program: Social insurance system.

Coverage

All employed persons covered by the labor law.

Exclusions: Self-employed persons, foreign citizens, and voluntarily insured persons under Old Age, Disability, and Survivors.

Source of Funds

Insured person: None.

Self-employed person: Not applicable.

Employer: 3% of payroll.

Government: Any deficit.

Qualifying Conditions

Unemployment benefit: Must have at least six months of insurance before the date of unemployment. Must be registered at an employment office and capable of, and available for, work. Unemployment must not be due to leaving voluntarily, misconduct, or refusing a suitable job offer.

Unemployment Benefits

55% of the insured's average earnings in the 90 day period before unemployment is paid plus 10% for each of the first four dependents.

With six to 24 months of coverage, the benefit is paid for up to 12 months (6 months if single); with 25 to 120 months of coverage, up to 18 months (12 months if single); with 121 to 180 months, up to 26 months (18 months if single); with 181 to 240 months, up to 36 months (26 months if single); with 241 months and longer, up to 50 months (36 months if single).

The minimum benefit is the minimum wage of an unskilled laborer.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

The maximum benefit is 80% of the insured's average earnings.

Insured persons aged 55 or older may receive unemployment benefits up to the retirement age.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to changes in the cost of living.

Administrative Organization

Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare provides general supervision.

Family Allowances

Regulatory Framework

First law: 1953.

Current law: 1975 (social security).

Type of program: Employment-related system.

Coverage

Employed persons.

Exclusions: Self-employed persons.

Source of Funds

Insured person: None.

Self-employed person: Not applicable.

Employer: The total cost.

Government: None.

Qualifying Conditions

Family allowances: The parent must have at least 720 working days of contributions. The child must be younger than age 18 (no limit if a student or disabled).

Marriage grant: Must have at least 720 days of contributions in the five years before the date of marriage. The couple must have been married before unemployment began.

Family Allowance Benefits

Family allowances: Three times the lowest daily wage of an unskilled laborer is paid for up to two children.

The minimum wage of an unskilled laborer is 3,894,000 rials a month.

Benefit adjustment: Benefits are adjusted annually according to changes in the cost of living.

Marriage grant: A lump sum of one month of the insured's average earnings is paid. If both spouses are insured, both the husband and wife receive the grant.

Administrative Organization

Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare provides general supervision.

Social Security Organization (http://www.tamin.ir) administers the program.