Moroccan activists have launched a new campaign on social networks to exempt pensioners from income tax so they can cope with the rising cost of living.
Local media reported that the Federation of the Kingdom's Retirees' Associations sent a letter to the Prime Minister Saad Eddine Al-Othmani, explaining that the pensions of the majority of pensioners are inadequate and below the minimum wage.
The number of pensioners in Morocco exceeds 1.8 million people according to the figures at the end of last year 2018.
Trade unionists say that pension subsidies, including the exemption from income tax, could help improve the situation, especially that 394,000 pensioners basically receive a pension that does not exceed $ 200 a month.
The National Social Security Fund, responsible for the private sector, is characterized by meager pensions that do not take into account the change in household purchasing power standard.
The federal government is demanding that retirees would also benefit from wage increases similar to employees, after signing an agreement with trade unions about five months ago, which led to higher wages between $ 40 and $ 50 for employees according to their grades.
Moroccan retirees are very poorly paid which leads them to rely on the help provided by families, especially since many of them have to continue repaying consumer and real estate bank loans even after their retirement.
According to an official study issued by the National Social Security Fund, 70 per cent of the fund pensioners receive pensions below $ 200, while only 2 per cent receive pensions in the range of $ 420.
#Morocco: Campaign to exempt #pensioners from income tax
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