The Peshmerga Pension Authority has requested that pensions for Peshmerga be aligned with Iraq’s Unified Pension Law, but based on the Kurdistan Region’s 2007 Pension and Social Security Law, so that “allowances for women, children, and risk compensation are preserved.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers discussed the issue in its Wednesday meeting and tasked the Ministries of Finance and Economy with negotiating with Iraq’s Federal Pension Department, aiming to “reach an agreement and find a legal framework.”

In the Kurdistan Region, Law No. 38 of 2007, passed by the Kurdistan Parliament, includes provisions for “women’s, children’s, and risk allowances for Peshmerga.” However, Iraq’s Unified Pension Law No. 9 of 2014 contains no such allowances for military service.

According to documents obtained by Channel8, the Peshmerga Pension Authority’s report to the Council of Ministers outlined that the allowance for a wife is 70,000 IQD, for each child 15,000 IQD, and risk allowance ranges from 120,000 to 600,000 IQD. These benefits, however, are absent from Iraq’s Law No. 9 of 2014.

The authority stressed: “Baghdad wants Peshmerga pensions to follow Iraq’s 2014 Law No. 9, which excludes women’s, children’s, and risk allowances. This will financially harm pensioners whose salaries are above one million dinars.”

The Ministry of Finance confirmed to Channel8 that it will soon begin talks with Iraq’s Federal Pension Department to reconcile the differences between Iraq’s Law No. 9 (2014) and Kurdistan’s Law No. 38 (2007) regarding Peshmerga pensions.