Understanding GOSI contributions in Saudi Arabia
What GOSI is, who's covered, how employer and employee contributions split, and what recent reforms changed — for payroll teams.
The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) runs Saudi Arabia’s social-insurance scheme — pensions, occupational-hazard cover, and unemployment support (SANED). If you run payroll in the Kingdom, GOSI contributions are a monthly obligation you can’t get wrong.
Who’s covered
- Saudi employees are covered for annuities (pension), occupational hazards, and SANED.
- Non-Saudi employees are generally covered for occupational hazards only.
How contributions split
For Saudi employees, the total contribution is shared between employer and employee (covering annuities + SANED), while occupational-hazard cover is paid by the employer. For non-Saudis, the employer pays the occupational-hazard contribution. Contributions are calculated on a contributory wage (basic + housing, within floor/ceiling limits).
Saudi Arabia has been phasing in reforms that adjust contribution rates for new entrants over several years. Exact percentages and the contributory-wage rules depend on the employee’s category and start date — always confirm current rates with GOSI.
The monthly cycle
- Keep each employee’s GOSI registration and contributory wage current.
- Calculate contributions in the payroll run.
- Generate and upload the GOSI file, and pay by the deadline.
- Reconcile GOSI payable in the ledger.
Where it goes wrong
- Stale wage data — a raise not reflected in the contributory wage understates contributions.
- New-joiner/leaver timing — mid-month changes need careful proration.
- Manual files — re-keying GOSI data invites errors and late submissions.
GOSI accuracy comes down to clean employee data and a payroll engine that computes contributions automatically. XO People keeps each employee’s GOSI details on their record, calculates the split in the payroll run, and exports the GOSI file ready to upload — with the posting flowing straight to the ledger. See the Payroll and Employee Hub guides.