Social insurance in the GCC: what nationals and expats pay in 2026

Comparison table: employee and employer in each country

The table below shows each branch of social insurance in each Gulf country, the employee and employer shares, and who it covers. It is built automatically from the data in our calculators, so it stays up to date with them:

How to read the table: the employee column is what comes off your salary. The employer column is not taken from you, but it is a cost to the company. The "applies to" column matters most, because it separates nationals from expats.

Why do nationals pay and expats do not?

Gulf pension systems were built to secure an income for nationals after retirement or disability, and for their families after death. Expats, on the other hand, work on temporary contracts tied to their residence permit, and the law gives them an end-of-service gratuity instead of a pension.

In practice:

• Nationals: their net salary is lower than gross by the contribution rate, but they build up a right to a pension.
• Expats: their net salary is roughly the same as gross, but they build up no pension and rely on the end-of-service gratuity. Read the guide to end-of-service gratuity in the GCC.

In Qatar, for example, Social Insurance Law No. 1 of 2022 says it applies to Qataris working in government and the private sector, so it does not cover expats.

What changed in Saudi Arabia for new members?

The new Social Insurance Law treats Saudis registered before 3 July 2024 differently from those who started work for the first time after that date.

• Registered before 3 July 2024: the employee pays 9% to the pensions branch and 0.75% to Saned (unemployment insurance).
• Joined after that date: the pension rate rises a little each year on GOSI's schedule, reaching 11% in July 2028.
• Expats: nothing is deducted. The employer pays 2% for the occupational hazards branch.

Contributions are based on basic wage plus housing allowance, up to 45,000 riyals a month. Try both cases in the Saudi calculator, and pick the new system option if it applies to you.

UAE: two laws for nationals, depending on registration date

In the UAE, what a national in the private sector pays depends on when they registered with the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA):

• Registered before 31 October 2023: covered by Law No. 7 of 1999. The employee pays 5%, the employer 12.5%, and the government adds 2.5%.
• First joined from 31 October 2023: covered by Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023. The total contribution is 26%: the employee pays 11% and the employer 15%, on a contribution salary of between 3,000 and 70,000 dirhams a month.

The difference in net pay is large. A new Emirati employee with a contributory salary of 20,000 dirhams pays 2,200 dirhams a month, while a colleague registered before that date pays 1,000 dirhams on the same salary. You can choose the system in the UAE calculator. Note that the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund has its own rules.

Worked example: a Bahraini and an expat on the same salary

Bahrain is a useful example because it is one of the few countries that deducts something from expats. Assume a monthly salary of 1,000 Bahraini dinars for each:

Bahraini employee:

• Old age, disability and death insurance: 7% = 70 dinars.
• Unemployment insurance: 1% = 10 dinars.
• Total deducted: 80 dinars, net pay 920 dinars.

Expat employee:

• Unemployment insurance: 1% = 10 dinars.
• Net pay 990 dinars.
• The employer pays 3% for work injuries and 4.2% for the end-of-service gratuity in the first 3 years, so 72 dinars that do not come off the salary.

This is simplified and assumes the whole salary is subject to contributions. The full breakdown is in the Bahrain calculator.

GCC nationals working in another GCC country

A Saudi working in the UAE, or a Kuwaiti in Qatar: do they lose their pension? No, because of the Unified System for Extending Insurance Protection to GCC nationals working in other GCC states. It keeps a GCC national covered by their home country's pension system while they work in another Gulf country. Qatar, for example, applied it through Law No. 4 of 2007.

The practical details, such as rates and who collects the contributions, depend on the two countries. Check with the social insurance body in your home country before you move, and compare net pay on comparison pages such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE and Qatar or Kuwait.

What expats actually pay in each country

In short, based on the calculator data:

• Saudi Arabia: nothing from the salary. The employer pays occupational hazards.
• UAE: no pension contribution. But the unemployment insurance scheme covers both national and resident employees, with a small fixed monthly premium paid by the employee.
• Qatar and Kuwait: no pension contribution for expats.
• Bahrain: 1% for unemployment insurance. The employer pays work injuries and the end-of-service gratuity to the Social Insurance Organisation.
• Oman: no contribution for expats in 2026. The savings scheme for non-Omanis, at 9% of basic pay, will be paid by the employer once it starts.

To compare with countries outside the Gulf, see the ranking of countries by social insurance rates.

How to use this information

• If you are a GCC national, check which system applies to you, as rates differ between earlier and new members in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• If you are an expat, your net pay is close to gross, but plan your own savings.
• If you are an employer, the employer share is part of what an employee costs you. The calculators show it on a separate line.
• To understand the items on a payslip, read gross vs net salary.

Rates change by official decision. The table above updates with the calculator data, and each country's guide has a page of official sources.

Sources

1. GOSI: schedule of gradual pension rate increases, 2024 to 2028
2. GOSI: employer journey (maximum wage and wage components)
3. GOSI: frequently asked questions for contributors
4. Qatar General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority: Law No. 1 of 2022
5. Qatar: Law No. 4 of 2007 on extending insurance protection to GCC nationals
6. Bahrain Social Insurance Organisation: end-of-service gratuity for non-Bahrainis
7. UAE Unemployment Insurance Scheme
8. Oman: Social Protection Law, Royal Decree 52/2023
9. UAE government portal: pensions and social security for nationals
10. GPSSA: distribution of contributions due

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rules change; check with the authority or a qualified adviser before you act. How we work.