Iran's government has approved a proposal to increase pensions for retirees to 90% of the salary and allowances of their working counterparts, the country's Administrative and Recruitment Affairs Organisation announced.

Zabihollah Salmani, acting deputy for human capital at the organisation, said the Cabinet approved the proposal on early on October 21 (the last day of the Persian calendar month of Mehr), following multiple meetings with experts from various government bodies.

Retirees in Iran have staged increasing protests in Tehran and other cities in recent months over low pension payments from state entities. The government of President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in the summer of 2024, has acknowledged the growing problem of underfunded pension plans and pledged to address retirees' demands. However, economic challenges exacerbated by international sanctions have complicated efforts to increase pension payments in line with rising living costs.

"If a retiree's pension is less than 90% of the salary and allowances of a similar active employee, the difference will be calculated," Salmani said. "Forty percent of this difference will be added to their pension this year as a separate line item, subject to annual increases in future years."

The official added that if the increase amounts to less than IRR10mn (approximately $238 at the official exchange rate), retirees will receive a fixed minimum adjustment of 10 million rials.

This move is part of Iran's Seventh Development Plan and the country's 2024-2025 budget law, which mandated the government to align retiree pensions with 90% of active employees' compensation.

The pension adjustment will apply to various categories of retirees, including those from civil service, education, judiciary, and academic sectors. The government is finalising details for different employee categories and will announce them soon, Salmani said.

Retired telecommunications workers staged protests in at least 14 Iranian cities on October 14, demanding fair pensions, better healthcare, and improved living conditions amid soaring inflation.

Demonstrators gathered outside government offices and company headquarters in Tehran, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Ilam, Tabriz, and other major cities, chanting slogans against corruption and government inaction.

In Tehran, protesters outside the Telecommunications Company headquarters carried banners reading, "The company has been torn apart, all they do is plunder," and chanted, "One less embezzlement, and our problem is solved."

Retirees in Ahvaz targeted major shareholders of the telecommunications company, including entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), demanding they "leave telecommunications alone."

Protesters across the country called for the implementation of pension regulations promised in 2009 but not fully enforced. In Sanandaj, demonstrators chanted, "Implementation of the regulations is our absolute right."

The nationwide protests highlighted the impact of inflation on retirees' lives. In Kermanshah, protesters chanted, "A retiree's pay lasts only for a week."