Disabled pensioners under study

ABU DHABI // Pension managers are to conduct a study to determine how many of Abu Dhabi's Emirati pensioners suffer from mental or physical disabilities. The Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions and Benefits Fund yesterday said it was ready to improve services to special-needs pensioners. However, a spokesman for the fund said it is still in the process of determining how best to discover how many such people there are, and the best ways to serve them.

There are few statistics determining how many people are dealing with special needs. The dearth of information is exacerbated by social taboos surrounding many physical and mental disabilities. The fund said it would use the information to improve services to pensioners in need. Last year the fund's representatives travelled to help Emiratis in remote locations process the paperwork required to obtain their pensions.

The fund also said it would recruit employees with special needs. "The fund has had many discussions about how we can best serve our special-needs members and customers, but we also want to reach out to the community as a whole - including those special- needs individuals who are not members and customers of the fund - and hopefully make a difference to their lives too," said Hamad Saif al Mansouri, director general.