Retirees Council's Reaction to the Seventh Development Plan; It Will Lead to 'Intensification of Public Misery'

The Iranian Retirees Council issued a statement on Sunday, July 2, in response to the draft of the Seventh Development Plan, calling it a precursor to 'intensification of public misery.' The statement noted that after the approval of six previous plans, people have 'not only seen no improvement and development in their lives but, on the contrary, have experienced worsening living conditions and economic and political pressures every year.' According to them, the Seventh Plan is worse than previous plans, presenting a 'complete picture of the development of poverty, austerity, and restrictions for the majority of the people and the decline of the value of labor.' The statement from the Iranian Retirees Council referred to development plans as 'self-harming and self-sewing by the government,' adding: 'An elite government possessing power and wealth is planning a miserable condition for the majority to further develop and enrich the interests and wealth of the minority.' The statement continued: 'The focus of these so-called development plans is not on calculating our livelihood and health, our economic security, the improvement of our living conditions, and our welfare, but rather on policies that allocate the wealth derived from the labor of wage earners and public resources to manage the affairs and necessities of capital, profitability, and the survival of political power.' The Iranian Retirees Council's statement described annual planning and budgets as leading to 'economic, welfare, and healthcare misery' for both active and retired workers, adding: 'The Seventh Development Plan is set to impose such restrictions and austerity on us that its devastating consequences have already brought more anxiety, worry, and distress into the lives of each of us. This is a plan that the powerful and wealthy minority has drawn up for the powerless but wealth-generating majority.' The statement concluded by describing the Seventh Development Plan as a tool for 'reversing political achievements and suppressing the livelihood... of the ongoing great revolution,' adding that to improve living conditions, 'we will unite and shout our budgetary and life needs in the streets and strive for their realization.' A review of the draft of the Seventh Development Plan in the retirement sector indicates the difficult and concerning conditions facing current retirees and employees, as the plan proposes to increase the retirement age by 5 years and, alongside an increase in the share of insurance premiums paid by workers, employers will no longer have any obligation to pay insurance premiums for individuals with over 30 years of work experience. Investigations by Voice of America show that the draft of the Seventh Development Plan clearly emphasizes the exemption of employers from paying retirement deductions for individuals with more than thirty years of insurance history. The plan also introduces changes to the insurance premiums paid by workers, with the government stipulating that the workers' share of the premium will increase to 8 percent. Accordingly, the employer's share will decrease from 23 percent to 20 percent, and the government's share will also decrease to 2 percent. A noteworthy aspect of this development plan, drafted by Ibrahim Raisi's economic team, is the integration of pension funds by the end of the Seventh Development Plan. The proposed bill to the parliament states that the government is obliged to take necessary actions for the dissolution and integration of funds one year after the program is announced. The increase in retirement age is another controversial aspect of this plan, with the government stipulating that, without exception, 5 years will be added to the retirement age of all individuals in regular, hard, or hazardous jobs. Claims by the Minister of Labor of the Islamic Republic regarding the possibility of removing two controversial articles from the Seventh Development Plan highlight the significant challenges between the government and experts; from 'lofty goals' to 'fantastical aspirations.' A retirees' rights activist stated that the government's economic promises are not achievable. Protests by telecommunications retirees have included chants of 'incompetent minister, resign, resign.' A review of a section of the Seventh Development Plan has been described as 'hell' for retirees. The delivery of the 'Seventh Plan' bill to the parliament has seen Raisi state that previous plans were 'executed at about 40 percent.' The likelihood of removing 'anti-labor' articles from the Seventh Development Plan has increased.