Egypt raises the military pensions for the seventh time in three years since al-Sisi reached power in a military coup in 2013. Middle East Monitor reported that Egypt’s parliament approved a 10 % rise in military and civilian pensions.
The country’s assistant finance minister said pensions for the fiscal year 2016/2017 will reach around 170 billion Egyptian pounds ($19.1 billion).
He added that this year’s 10 % rise will reach around 15 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.7 billion), noting that the rise will increase the government’s budget deficit.
In 2015, al-Sisi issued a decree Law No. 30 of 2015, to increase military pensions and amend some provisions of the law of retirement, insurance and pensions of the Armed Forces, promulgated by Law No. 90 of 1975.
At that time, the decree increased military pensions by 10 % and was published in the official gazette as stated in the retirement, insurance and pensions law of the Armed Forces.
The resolution also stated that this increase is part of the pension and has no minimum or maximum rates.
Despite Egypt’s economic crisis that is the worst in the country’s history, al-Sisi tends to increase the financial benefits and advantages of his military. Al-Sisi launched a military coup in 2013 against the first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi. Since then, al-Sisi works on empowering the military forces’ interests.
