Amman – Sunday, September 6, 2026
A new policy brief issued by theJordan Labor Watch at the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies stressedthat expanding social security coverage should be the cornerstone of anygenuine and sustainable reform of Jordan’s social security system. It calledfor moving beyond temporary and limited coverage-expansion programs towardpermanent institutional reform that responds to the transformations takingplace in the labor market and changing patterns of employment and income.
The policy brief, titled “ExpandingSocial Security Coverage in Jordan: Towards a More Flexible, Equitable andSustainable Social Insurance System”, noted that Jordan has a relativelyadvanced legislative and institutional framework for social security.
However, a significant coverage gapremains. The number of active insured persons reached approximately 1.633million in July 2026, while around 54 percent of workers in Jordan remainoutside social security coverage, and approximately 23 percent of workers areaffected by social insurance evasion.
The brief pointed out that addressingthe coverage gap requires distinguishing between two different problems. Thefirst concerns non-compliance and social insurance evasion in sectors that arealready supposed to be covered by law. The second relates to the inadequacy ofthe traditional contribution model for large groups of workers, includingself-employed workers, daily and seasonal workers, and digital platform workerswho do not have a regular monthly income or a single employer.
The Labor Watch called forintroducing a “flexible social security” track within the Social SecurityCorporation, allowing workers to maintain a single insurance account in whichcontribution periods and entitlements accumulate regardless of changes in theiremployment status, whether they move between wage employment, self-employment,seasonal work, or platform-based work. It also called for linking contributionsfor self-employed workers to their actual income or to flexible income bracketsthat correspond to their ability to pay.
The brief further proposed developinga dedicated system for daily and seasonal workers based on calculatingcontributions according to actual days or periods of work. It also called forrequiring digital platforms to share data on workers and income with the SocialSecurity Corporation and to collect contributions at the source of income. Inaddition, it proposed allowing workers to temporarily suspend theircontributions during periods of no income without accumulating debt, whilepreserving their previously acquired insurance rights.
The policy brief stressed thatexpanding coverage cannot be achieved by placing the full cost of contributionson low-income workers. It therefore called for establishing a permanentnational contribution-support program, under which public contributions wouldbe higher for lower-income groups and gradually decline as workers’ ability topay improves. In this regard, it cited the Istidama++ (Sustainability++)program, which contributed to bringing approximately 46,000 male and femaleworkers under social security coverage and benefited more than 10,000 establishmentsand employers.
The Labor Watch recommended setting anational target to raise social security coverage to 90 percent of all workersin Jordan within five years, supported by annual targets and publicly disclosedindicators. It also called for an implementation program to combat socialinsurance evasion and strengthen electronic integration and data exchange amonggovernment institutions.
It emphasized that the success ofreform should not be measured solely by the number of newly registered workers,but also by their ability to remain enrolled and by the adequacy of theprotection provided to them. Expanding coverage, it concluded, represents aninvestment not only in social justice and stability, but also in the financialsustainability of the social security system.