The facade of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) building in Beirut in September 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The National Social Security Fund (NNSF) announced Friday a series of changes to its family allowances branch, including higher employer contributions and increased benefits for employees. The adjustments, which take effect on July 1, aim to improve living conditions and promote social justice, according to a statement from the fund.
The ceiling on income subject to contributions has been raised from 12 million to 18 million Lebanese liras (approximately $200), with employers required to contribute 6 percent of each employee’s salary to the NSSF family allowances branch.
In parallel, the NSSF has increased the maximum monthly family allowances employers can receive, now capped at 4.5 million liras — double the previous 2.25 million-lira ceiling. These benefits are distributed as follows: 1.2 million liras for a non-working spouse (previously 600,000 liras), and 660,000 liras per child, up to five children (compared to 330,000 liras previously).
For taxi drivers, family allowances have been capped at 2.6 million liras per month, with 1 million liras allocated for a non-working spouse and 320,000 liras per child, also up to five children.
The NSSF said the revisions were made in collaboration with its board of directors and the Labor Ministry and are part of a broader reform plan aimed at modernizing Lebanon’s social security system.
These measures "accompany citizens' aspirations for improved living conditions and greater social justice," the NSSF Public Relations Department said in its statement. The plan also aims to enhance the effectiveness of the system and strengthen protections for workers and families.
NSSF Director General Mohammad Karaki expressed "hope that the increase in social benefits granted to employees will be complemented by an increase in the official minimum wage in the near future."
Karaki first announced the changes a month and a half ago, around the time Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar proposed raising the minimum wage from 18 million to 28 million pounds (roughly $312). The proposal was rejected by the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (CGTL) and other unions.
At the time, CGTL President Bechara al-Asmar criticized the plan, arguing that it sets a new minimum wage without adjusting pay scales across other salary levels and that the proposed figure remains insufficient.