Every month, Saudi employers pay contributions to the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), and for Saudi employees part of that comes out of the payslip. How much depends on three things: your nationality, the date you were first registered with GOSI, and the part of your pay that counts. This guide explains each one and works through examples with the same rules as our GOSI calculator.
Which part of your salary counts
GOSI is not charged on your whole package. The contributory wage is your basic salary plus your housing allowance – in cash, or the value of housing the employer provides. Transport, food and other allowances are left out, so two people on the same total pay can contribute very different amounts.
The wage also has limits. For Saudis it counts as at least SAR 1,500 and at most SAR 45,000 a month. If basic plus housing is SAR 1,200, contributions are worked out on SAR 1,500; the employee pays SAR 146.25 and the employer SAR 176.25. Pay above SAR 45,000 attracts no further contributions.
The rates by branch
GOSI is split into branches, and each has its own rate. Saudi employees are covered by all three; non-Saudi employees by occupational hazards only.
| Branch | Saudi – employee | Saudi – employer | Non-Saudi – employer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annuities (pension) – registered before 3 July 2024 | 9% | 9% | – |
| Annuities (pension) – registered on or after 3 July 2024 | 10% now, rising to 11% | 10% now, rising to 11% | – |
| SANED unemployment insurance | 0.75% | 0.75% | – |
| Occupational hazards | – | 2% | 2% |
| Total (old / new system) | 9.75% / 10.75% | 11.75% / 12.75% | 2% |
The annuities branch funds pensions and is shared equally between employee and employer. SANED, the unemployment insurance scheme, has its own law and is also split equally. The occupational hazards branch is paid by the employer alone. In total, a Saudi on the existing system has 9.75% deducted and costs the employer 11.75% on top of pay.
Old system or new system
The new Social Insurance Law came into force on 3 July 2024. It did not change anything for people already registered: if GOSI first registered you before that date, your pension rate stays at 9% on each side. If you were first registered on or after 3 July 2024, the pension rate started at 9% and rises by half a percentage point every July until it reaches 11% in July 2028.
What matters is the first registration date, not the start date of your current job. Moving to a new employer does not move you to the new system. The table shows the rise for one salary.
| Period | Pension rate (each side) | Employee pays | Employer pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Jul 2024 – 30 Jun 2025 | 9% | SAR 1,218.75 | SAR 1,468.75 |
| 1 Jul 2025 – 30 Jun 2026 | 9.5% | SAR 1,281.25 | SAR 1,531.25 |
| 1 Jul 2026 – 30 Jun 2027 | 10% | SAR 1,343.75 | SAR 1,593.75 |
| 1 Jul 2027 – 30 Jun 2028 | 10.5% | SAR 1,406.25 | SAR 1,656.25 |
| From 1 Jul 2028 | 11% | SAR 1,468.75 | SAR 1,718.75 |
Between the current period and July 2028, the employee deduction on this salary rises from SAR 1,343.75 to SAR 1,468.75 a month, and the employer’s share from SAR 1,593.75 to SAR 1,718.75.
Worked example: SAR 12,500 a month
Take a Saudi employee on SAR 10,000 basic and SAR 2,500 housing. The contributory wage is SAR 12,500.
- Registered before 3 July 2024: SAR 12,500 × 9.75% = SAR 1,218.75 deducted each month. The employer pays SAR 1,468.75.
- Registered on or after 3 July 2024 (rates from 1 July 2026): SAR 1,343.75 deducted and SAR 1,593.75 from the employer.
- Expatriate on the same pay: nothing deducted; the employer pays SAR 250.00 for occupational hazards.
Over a year, the old-system deduction comes to SAR 14,625.00 and the new-system deduction to SAR 16,125.00.
Contributions at six salaries
The salary links open the calculator with that basic and housing split, so you can change the numbers or switch system.
| Basic + housing | Contributory wage | Saudi, old system: employee | Employer | Saudi, new system: employee | Employer | Expat: employer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAR 5,000 | SAR 5,000 | SAR 487.50 | SAR 587.50 | SAR 537.50 | SAR 637.50 | SAR 100.00 |
| SAR 10,000 | SAR 10,000 | SAR 975.00 | SAR 1,175.00 | SAR 1,075.00 | SAR 1,275.00 | SAR 200.00 |
| SAR 12,500 | SAR 12,500 | SAR 1,218.75 | SAR 1,468.75 | SAR 1,343.75 | SAR 1,593.75 | SAR 250.00 |
| SAR 25,000 | SAR 25,000 | SAR 2,437.50 | SAR 2,937.50 | SAR 2,687.50 | SAR 3,187.50 | SAR 500.00 |
| SAR 45,000 | SAR 45,000 | SAR 4,387.50 | SAR 5,287.50 | SAR 4,837.50 | SAR 5,737.50 | SAR 900.00 |
| SAR 60,000 | SAR 45,000 | SAR 4,387.50 | SAR 5,287.50 | SAR 4,837.50 | SAR 5,737.50 | SAR 900.00 |
The cap shows clearly at the top of the table. At SAR 45,000 and at SAR 60,000 the contributory wage is the same SAR 45,000, so the deduction is identical: SAR 4,387.50 a month on the old system, which is the most a Saudi on that system can pay.
What to check on your payslip
- Confirm the wage GOSI holds for you – basic plus housing – in your GOSI account. If the registered wage differs from your contract, ask your employer to correct it, because every contribution is worked out from that figure.
- Check your first registration date. It decides whether 9.75% or the rising new-system rate applies, and it stays with you when you change jobs.
- Expect a higher deduction each July if you are on the new system: the next step is 1 July 2027, when the pension rate goes to 10.5% on each side.
- If you are an expat, GOSI should not appear as a deduction at all. Your end-of-service award is a separate employer payment under the Labour Law – see our Saudi end-of-service calculator.
How we calculated this
All amounts come from the GOSI calculator’s rules: the Social Insurance Law (Royal Decree M/33 of 1421H), the new Social Insurance Law (Royal Decree M/273 of 1445H, in force 3 July 2024), the SANED Unemployment Insurance Law (Royal Decree M/18 of 1435H), and GOSI’s contributory wage limits of SAR 1,500–SAR 45,000 for Saudis and SAR 400–SAR 45,000 for non-Saudis, who are covered by the occupational hazards branch only. Each branch is rounded to the halala, as the calculator does. We do not model voluntary contributions, the self-employed, public-sector schemes, or GCC nationals working in Saudi Arabia.
General information, not legal advice or tax advice. Check your registration date and contributory wage in your account at gosi.gov.sa.