Executive Insight – A fund for the future

“Pending the institution of an old-age insurance scheme, an end-of-service indemnity (EOSI) Fund shall be set up.” So begins article 49 of the 1963 Social Security Law. Run by Lebanon’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the public provider of insurance for the private sector, the EOSI still pays retirees a lump-sum payment upon retirement but its conversion into a pension — with regular payments during retirement guaranteeing social security for old age — has not yet seen the light of day. With developed countries and even developing countries establishing functional old-age pension schemes, Lebanon’s lack of reforms is alarming. Over the past four decades, several draft bills were put forth to the Lebanese Parliament aiming to reform the current retirement system and adopt a pension scheme, yet none have passed. The majority of the proposed reforms aimed to address the numerous drawbacks of the EOSI system, such as the large