GPSSA Registration for Emirati Employees: Contribution Rates, Deadlines, and Employer Penalties

Hiring an Emirati to meet an Emiratisation quota creates a second obligation that starts on day one. This article explains which pension law applies to which employee, what the employer contributes and on what salary, the 30-day registration deadline, and the daily fine that accrues when it is missed.

What must a UAE employer do after hiring an Emirati employee?

–Register the employee with GPSSA within 30 days and contribute monthly at the correct rate

An Emirati employee is not covered by the end-of-service gratuity system that applies to expatriate staff. The employee is enrolled instead in the federal pension scheme administered by the General Pension and Social Security Authority. The employer becomes responsible for registering them, deducting the employee share from payroll, and remitting the combined contribution every month. Two different laws govern that obligation depending on when the employee first entered the workforce, and the rates differ materially between them.

• Registration is due within 30 days of the joining date. Late registration costs AED 200 per day for each unregistered employee, and the fine is borne by the employer rather than shared.
• Two regimes apply in parallel. Emiratis who first joined the workforce on or after 31 October 2023 fall under Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023. Everyone registered before that date remains under Federal Law No. 7 of 1999, even after changing employer.
• The total contribution is 26 per cent under the new law. The employee bears 11 per cent and the employer 15 per cent, against 20 per cent in total under the 1999 law.
• The government subsidises smaller salaries. Where the contribution account salary is below AED 20,000, the government pays 2.5 per cent of the employer's share, leaving the employer at 12.5 per cent.
• Departures must be notified within 15 days. The employer reports the end of service to GPSSA, and the same daily fine regime applies.

Who this applies to

This article is for HR directors, payroll managers, CFOs and in-house counsel at private sector companies that employ or are about to employ UAE nationals. It is most immediately relevant to companies working toward an Emiratisation target, since the quota and the pension obligation attach to the same hire.

The quota framework, the Nafis programme and the penalties for missing targets are covered separately in our article on Emiratisation compliance and Nafis fines. This article covers what happens after the hire is made.

The legal framework

Pension and social security for UAE nationals in private sector employment is federal, and two statutes operate at the same time:

• Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023 on Pension and Social Security, in force since 2 October 2023, which applies to Emiratis joining the workforce for the first time on or after 31 October 2023
• Federal Law No. 7 of 1999, which continues to govern every Emirati already registered with GPSSA before that date, including after a change of employer
• Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021 on Labour Relations, which governs the employment relationship itself, including contracts, notice and termination

The administering bodies:

• General Pension and Social Security Authority: registers insured employees, collects contributions and pays pensions for UAE nationals across the federal system
• MOHRE: administers the employment relationship, the work permit and the Emiratisation quota behind most private sector Emirati hires
• Abu Dhabi Pension Fund: operates a separate system for employees of Abu Dhabi-licensed entities, which are outside the GPSSA scheme

Which law applies to which employee

First-time entrants from 31 October 2023

Federal Decree-Law No. 57 of 2023 applies to Emiratis joining the workforce for the first time on or after that date with any GPSSA-affiliated employer. It also applies to nationals transferring in from certain other pension systems, where they meet the eligibility criteria.

Everyone registered earlier

An Emirati who was contributing to GPSSA before 31 October 2023 stays under the 1999 law for the rest of their career. Changing employer does not move them across. A company hiring an experienced Emirati manager therefore inherits the older, cheaper regime, while a company hiring a graduate acquires the newer one.

That distinction has a practical consequence for budgeting. Two Emiratis doing the same job at the same salary can carry different payroll costs depending only on when each first entered employment.

Eligibility to be registered

Registration requires the individual to be a UAE national aged between 18 and 60 and medically fit to work, supported by an approved medical report. Official age documentation issued by a UAE authority is required at first registration, and any correction to the recorded age must be submitted within one year of the contribution date.

Contribution rates and the salary they are calculated on

The rates

Under the 2023 law, the total monthly contribution is 26 per cent of the contribution account salary. The employee bears 11 per cent and the employer bears 15 per cent. Where the employee's contribution account salary is below AED 20,000, the government pays 2.5 per cent of the employer's share, so the employer remits 12.5 per cent.

Under the 1999 law, the total is 20 per cent, with the employee bearing 5 per cent and the employer 12.5 per cent, the government covering the balance on lower salaries.

The salary base

The contribution is calculated on the contribution account salary rather than on total remuneration. For private sector employees, that figure is the gross salary including the allowances stated in the employment contract, subject to a ceiling. The 2023 law raised the contribution account ceiling from AED 50,000 to AED 70,000.

The base is fixed for the year. The contribution account salary is set in January and applies for the following twelve months, which means mid-year salary increases do not change the contribution until the next annual reset.

The deadlines that matter

Three dates govern the employer's relationship with GPSSA, and all three are short.

Thirty days to register. Employers must register an insured Emirati employee within one month of the joining date, using the employer service portal on the GPSSA website.

Fifteen days to report a departure. The employer must give GPSSA the name of any employee whose service ends, within 15 days of the end-of-service date at the latest.

The fifteenth of the following month for payment. Monthly contributions are due at the start of the month and may be paid up to the fifteenth, after which late payment charges apply.

GPSSA may also require an employer to provide statements, data or documents within ten working days where it is verifying contribution rates.

Penalties for late registration and underpayment

AED 200 per day, per employee. Failure to complete registration within the deadline attracts a fine of AED 200 for each day of delay and for each insured employee whose registration was not completed. On a group hiring several Emiratis at once, that accumulates quickly.

The employer bears the cost. GPSSA treats registration and correct contribution payment as the employer's responsibility on behalf of the insured. Fines arising from late or inaccurate payment are borne by the employer, who is expected to know the federal pension law.

Understating the salary base is a separate exposure. Contributions calculated on basic salary alone, where the contract provides for allowances that belong in the contribution account salary, create an arrears liability that surfaces on audit rather than at the time.

Disputes go to a committee first. A claim against an employer over contributions must be put to the relevant committee before court proceedings are commenced, and the appeal route carries a five-year deadline.

Where the GPSSA scheme does not apply

The federal scheme has boundaries that surprise employers operating across emirates and free zones.

Abu Dhabi. Employees of Abu Dhabi-licensed entities fall under the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund rather than GPSSA. A group with entities in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi operates two systems.

Sharjah public sector. Public employees in Sharjah are covered by a separate arrangement.

GCC nationals. Nationals of other GCC states working in the UAE are enrolled through the unified GCC insurance protection extension, with contributions calculated by reference to their home state's system.

DIFC and ADGM. The financial free zones carry no Emiratisation quota and no federal gratuity obligation, but a national employee working there is still enrolled in the state pension. The DIFC added a duty in 2025 for employers to top up a national employee's pension where the monthly state contribution falls short of the DEWS rate by at least AED 1,000. The full comparison is covered in our article on DIFC and ADGM versus mainland employment law.

What employers should do next

• Establish which law applies before the offer. Ask whether the candidate has contributed to GPSSA before, because the answer changes the employer cost by 2.5 percentage points and the employee's take-home by six.
• Diarise the 30-day registration from the joining date, not from the contract date or the visa date, and assign it to a named person in payroll.
• Check the contribution account salary against the contract. Confirm which allowances form part of the base rather than defaulting to basic salary.
• Separate the Emirati payroll. Gratuity accrual does not apply and contribution deductions do, so processing both populations on one template produces errors in both directions.
• Budget beyond Nafis. Salary support covers part of the cost during the early years of employment, and the pension obligation continues at full rate afterwards.
• Reconcile before an audit rather than after. Arrears on an understated base are recoverable by GPSSA, and they are additional to any MOHRE exposure on the quota itself.

Employers reviewing their wider labour compliance position, including wage protection, contracts and quota tracking, will find the related obligations in our UAE labour law compliance guide for employers. The rules on dismissing an Emirati employee, including the approval MOHRE expects beforehand, are covered in our article on wrongful termination and employer liability.

What is the true cost of an Emirati hire in the UAE?

More than the salary, and more than the Emiratisation quota calculation suggests. On top of the agreed pay, a private sector employer contributes between 12.5 and 15 per cent of the contribution account salary every month. That obligation begins in the first month of employment and continues for the whole of the relationship.

The two-regime structure is what most often produces a surprise. A company that budgeted on the basis of its existing Emirati staff, all registered before October 2023, faces a different calculation on a new graduate hire. The employer rate is higher and the employee deduction is more than double. Candidates notice the second figure on their first payslip, and an offer discussed in gross terms without that explanation starts the relationship badly.

The compliance risk is smaller than the budgeting risk but sharper. Thirty days is not long for an HR function absorbing a wave of quota-driven hires, and the fine accrues daily for each employee left unregistered. It is the kind of exposure that is invisible until it is quantified.

For employers structuring Emirati employment contracts, reconciling contribution arrears, or facing a dispute with the authority, our employment and labour law team advises on registration, payroll structure and representation before the relevant committees.