Retired Peshmerga Personnel Await Salaries as Delays Exceed One Year

Reports 04:29 PM - 2026-02-08

Peshmerga personnel, 25,000 bills of Iraqi dinars, and the Kurdistan flag.

Military pensioners-Peshmerga officers and those with ranks- in the Kurdistan Region have not received their salaries for more than a year, with uncertainty continuing over when the outstanding payments will be resolved, while the spokesperson for the Forces 70 Command stated that only 90 percent of the retired ranked personnel are expected to receive their salaries this month.

Major General Ahmed Latif, spokesperson for the Forces 70 Command, told PUKMEDIA that 405 retired officers and ranked personnel from the brigade have not been paid for a year. These include 248 officers and 157 ranked personnel.

He said that retired military personnel are facing severe economic hardship, noting that only 90 percent of the 157 ranked personnel are due to receive their salaries this month. 

According to Latif, the January retirement salaries will be disbursed at the same time as the salaries of other public-sector employees in the Kurdistan Region.

Civilian retirees also affected

Meanwhile, a number of civilian retirees who retired at the end of 2025 have not received two months’ worth of salary, unlike other public-sector employees.

Sidiq Othman, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Pensioners Union, told PUKMEDIA that the civilian retirees who have not received their salaries are those who retired in October 2025.

“That is because all other employees in the Kurdistan Region have not yet received their November and December salaries,” he said. “These retirees are expected to receive their January salaries together with the public employees.”

Military Pensioners Unpaid for 13 Months

Military pensioners have not been paid in 13 months and the fate of their unpaid salaries remain unknown. 

A senior retired officer from the Peshmerga Ministry, who requested anonymity, told PUKMEDIA that retired military personnel have not received their salaries for 13 months and are enduring extremely difficult living conditions.

“The decision to retire me was issued on 1 January 2025,” the officer said. “The last salary paid to retired military personnel was for November 2024. Since then, 13 months of salaries have not been paid, and their fate remains unknown.”

He explained that retirees have received conflicting explanations when enquiring about their unpaid salaries. 

“At times, we are told our retirement was carried out under Kurdistan Region Retirement Law No. 38 to protect our rights. At other times, we are told it was carried out under the Iraqi Unified Retirement Law No. 9, which does not apply to us because our salaries are not unified with Baghdad,” he said.

According to the officer, the most recent update indicated that the relevant files had been referred to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Council of Ministers, but the council has yet to approve them.

Salary standardisation dispute

The issue of standardising retirees’ salaries in the Kurdistan Region relates to the implementation of the Iraqi Unified Retirement Law No. 9 of 2014, which sets the minimum pension at 500,000 Iraqi dinars. In contrast, the minimum pension in the Kurdistan Region currently stands at 220,000 dinars.

During the period in which military retirees have not received their salaries, the KRG’s Council of Ministers approved the payment of a single month’s salary as financial assistance. However, retirees say this measure has been insufficient, as many continue to struggle under harsh economic conditions.



PUKMEDIA