The Authority showcased the UAE’s pioneering social security
model at the ISSA Technical Seminar in Doha
Abu Dhabi, UAE – October 2026 – The General Pension and Social Security
Authority (GPSSA) participated in the International Social Security Association (ISSA)
Technical Seminar on Digital and Management Innovations in Social Security
Institutions, which was hosted by Qatar’s General Retirement and Social Insurance
Authority in Doha on 6 and 7 October 2026.
Hind Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Pensions Sector at the GPSSA, represented
the Authority at the event, showcasing the UAE’s experience in leveraging advanced
government integration and management innovation to redesign insurance coverage
models. During the seminar, she also participated in a panel discussion on enhancing
institutional performance through management innovation.
Al Suwaidi affirmed that GPSSA’s experience aligns with a broader UAE national vision
to redesign government operations centred around people’s needs and everyday life.
This strategy involves moving away from measuring service performance based purely
on transaction volume and speed, shifting toward assessing real-life results with a
tangible impact on customers’ lives.
“The UAE model for government excellence reflects a shift from providing standalone
services to designing interconnected, human-centric government journeys,” she
explained. “The goal is not limited to digitising procedures or linking systems; we aim to
align efforts across government entities to achieve a shared outcome, ensuring that
insurance coverage reaches citizens in promptly and with minimal effort on their part.”
From Fast-Paced Growth to Comprehensive Coverage
Al Suwaidi highlighted the transformation that the GPSSA spearheading to
accommodate a massive 505% growth in the number of insured UAE nationals in the
private sector between 2021 and 2026. She explained that the ‘Work Bundle’ initiative
and cross-governmental data integration efforts successfully embedded insurance
coverage directly into the employee onboarding process, rather than treating it as a
standalone service initiated after hiring procedures are finalized.
The major turning point was shifting from waiting for registration requests to proactively
identifying UAE citizens eligible for coverage, verifying their data, and automatically
triggering registration procedures. She noted that this transformation led to a 100%
insurance coverage by mid-2026, alongside notable improvements in collection
indicators, service digitisation, and customer satisfaction.
GPSSA Classification:
Confidential
Al Suwaidi summarised the UAE experience into five key principles: data integration,
designing services around life stages, proactiveness, shared responsibility, and
performance management. She stressed that while technology enabled this
transformation, it was management innovation and the redesign of the operating model
that ensured real-life results.
Communication and Leadership: Partners in Transformation
During the panel discussion, Al Suwaidi affirmed that strategic communication begins at
the design stage and involves actively listening to stakeholders, engaging them, and
turning their feedback into concrete improvements. She asserted that leading change
requires aligning organisations and teams around a common outcome, building mutual
trust, and pairing clear direction with execution flexibility.
“Trust begins with listening, deepens through participation, and takes root when
stakeholders see the real impact of their voices on decisions and results,” Al Suwaidi
said.
This year’s edition of the Technical Seminar on Digital and Management Innovations in
Social Security Institutions focused on showcasing relevant experiences and best
practices. It provided a vital platform for participating institutions to exchange
knowledge, share expertise, and explore solutions and trends that facilitate
development and enhance efficiency across global social security systems worldwide.
About the General Pension and Social Security Authority GPSSA:
The General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) is a financially and administratively
independent federal authority established under Federal Law No. (6) of 1999 to administer and
implement pension and social security systems in the United Arab Emirates.
The Authority delivers comprehensive insurance protection for insured individuals, pensioners
and their beneficiaries, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the pension ecosystem to
guarantee social and financial stability. Driven by its core values of transparency, efficiency,
excellence and customer happiness, the GPSSA is committed to providing innovative insurance
services aligned with global best practices in retirement planning.
