How does the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund work if you are an Emirati in Abu Dhabi?

The Abu Dhabi Pension Fund manages pensions for UAE nationals based in and employed in Abu Dhabi, under Abu Dhabi’s own pension law, Law No. 2 of 2000.¹ The federal GPSSA scheme does not cover Abu Dhabi’s local government or private sector employers in Abu Dhabi.¹

What changed in 2023?

The Fund amended the retirement law in 2023. The changes apply to all Emiratis working in the public and private sectors in Abu Dhabi, except people already retired. Members already insured keep their acquired rights and can have their pension calculated on the service periods of the old system.²¹

The Fund’s figures for contribution rates and the salary limits come from its own questions and answers.³ The age rule comes from the Media Office announcement.²

How does your pension build up?

For the first 15 years of service the pension is 48% of your average pensionable salary for the last six years. Each of the next ten years adds 3.2%. After that, each year adds 2% until the pension reaches 100%.³ So after 25 years you have 80%, and the 2% steps reach 100% after a further ten years.²

Once you reach 100%, each further year earns a benefit of three months of the six-year average salary, provided your employer kept paying contributions.³

Check your service and salary history on the Fund’s member dashboard on TAMM, which shows your contributions, employment history, added service periods and instalments.⁴

Can you work and draw a pension?

The Fund says pensioners can receive both a pension and a salary once they reach retirement age, 60, or after completing 30 years of service.³

Are there options for mothers and students?

The 2023 changes add optional contributions for female employees with children who leave work for family reasons, and for postgraduate students, so they can keep contributing during that time.³² The Fund opened this voluntary registration in May 2026, through TAMM. Mothers need a previous registration with the Fund and pay on their last pensionable salary. Postgraduate students (master’s, PhD or professional fellowship, in the UAE or abroad) can register for the first time and choose one of 10 salary brackets from AED 12,750 to AED 100,000. Registration ends if you join an employer covered by the Fund, finish your studies or miss six monthly payments in a row.⁵ Women with five or more children can ask for early retirement with a shorter service period.¹

Ask the Fund for your own retirement date before you plan to stop work. The age rule depends on the year you retire.

The small print

• Law. The Abu Dhabi law is Law No. 2 of 2000 regarding Civil Retirement Pensions and Benefits in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, amended by Law No. 18 of 2023.¹⁵
• Old ceiling. Under the previous system the maximum pension was 80% of pensionable salary after 25 years, and it did not rise with longer service.³
• First-year rules. For the first year of the amending law, the Fund lists 25 years of service at age 45 as one condition for a pension.³
• Military pensions have their own rules in the Fund’s answers, including a minimum pension of AED 10,000.³