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Tantan – The Moroccan government has approved a new draft law aimed at helping low-income families move into formal employment without immediately losing access to social assistance.
During its weekly meeting on Thursday, the Council of Government approved Draft Law No. 041.26 amending Law No. 58.23 on the direct social aid system. The bill was presented by Fouzi Lekjaa, Delegate Minister for Budget.
Government spokesperson and minister delegate for relations with Parliament, Mustapha Baitas, said the reform seeks to strengthen the effectiveness of Morocco’s direct social aid system while encouraging economic integration and formal employment.
According to Baitas, the new measures are intended to create stronger coordination between social assistance policies and employment policies, helping vulnerable households transition into the labor market without facing immediate financial insecurity.
The goal is to achieve an effective balance between the requirements of social justice and the demands of economic development, Baitas said following the government meeting.
The draft law comes as Morocco continues implementing a broad national strategy to expand social protection, a reform process launched under the directives of King Mohammed VI and formalized through Framework Law No. 09.21 on social protection.
Why reform is needed
Since Morocco officially launched its direct social aid program in December 2023, the system has revealed several practical challenges, particularly concerning the relationship between social assistance and formal employment.
Under the current rules, households lose eligibility for direct social aid once the head of the household or one of the spouses is declared to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) within the private sector.
This created a situation in which some families hesitated to accept formal jobs or declare employment because they feared losing their monthly support immediately.
The government now considers this one of the main obstacles preventing some beneficiaries from fully integrating into the formal economy.
The new bill is designed to address that issue by introducing temporary financial support during the transition period from social assistance to formal employment. Many low-income families remain vulnerable even after obtaining employment, especially during the first months of work when income stability is not guaranteed.
The government hopes that creating a temporary safety net will encourage more people to join the formal labor market and register with the social security system.
Exceptional monthly grant for affected families
One of the main provisions of the draft law is the creation of a special monthly grant for families that lose access to direct social aid because the head of household or one of the spouses becomes registered under CNSS.
According to the bill, the amount of this exceptional grant would be equal to the value of the aid the household previously received under the direct social aid program. The duration and detailed conditions for receiving this temporary support will later be determined through regulatory texts.
The measure is intended to reassure vulnerable families that entering the formal workforce will not immediately leave them without assistance.
The government describes the grant as a transitional mechanism aimed at guaranteeing social stability while families adapt to their new economic situation. It also believes the measure will help fight undeclared work by encouraging workers and employers to properly register employment relationships with CNSS.
The reform is expected to improve confidence in the formal labor market while strengthening the long-term sustainability of the social protection system, according to the government.
Immediate return to aid after job loss
The proposed legislation also introduces another important change. Households that lose formal employment would no longer have to wait 12 months before regaining access to direct social aid. Current legislation imposes a one-year waiting period before families can re-enter the system after becoming ineligible.
Under the proposed amendment, if the head of household or one of the spouses loses a formally declared job in the private sector, the household would be able to immediately recover eligibility for direct social aid.
The government says this measure is especially important during periods of economic uncertainty and labor market instability. In addition, requiring families to wait an entire year after losing employment can expose vulnerable households to serious financial hardship.
The reform therefore aims to ensure continuity of social protection during periods of professional transition and income loss. It also aims to reduce fears associated with entering the formal labor market because families will know they can quickly regain support if employment ends unexpectedly.
Existing eligibility rules under Law No. 58.23
The reform specifically modifies provisions contained in Article 7 of Law No. 58.23 on the direct social aid system. Under the current law, households are excluded from direct social aid if the head of household or one of the spouses falls into one of several categories.
These include public sector employees, workers employed by local authorities or public institutions, people declared under the private sector social security system, retirees from the public or private sector, and people receiving compensation through non-contributory systems.
The government says the objective of the new amendments is not to remove those eligibility conditions entirely, but rather to create more flexible transition mechanisms between social assistance and employment.
The new legislation is part of Morocco’s larger social protection reform strategy, which has become one of the country’s most significant public policy projects in recent years.
The reform is based on Article 31 of the Moroccan Constitution, which states that public institutions and territorial authorities must mobilize all available means to facilitate citizens’ access to social protection, healthcare coverage, education, and social solidarity.
The bill also follows Article 18 of Framework Law No. 09.21 on social protection, which calls for updating and adapting the country’s legal and regulatory framework to respond to economic and social changes.
Morocco officially launched registration for the direct social aid program in December 2023 through the online platform ASD.ma. Eligibility depends on registration in both the National Population Registry and the Unified Social Registry.
The program was introduced as part of the government’s effort to expand social assistance to vulnerable households, including families with children, elderly dependents, children with disabilities, and low-income households without school-age children.
The minimum monthly support for families under the program starts at MAD 500 and can exceed MAD 1,000 depending on household composition and the number of children.
ANSS to oversee implementation and evaluation
Implementation of the new measures will be entrusted to the National Agency for Social Support (ANSS). The agency was created as part of Morocco’s broader social protection reforms and is responsible for managing the direct social assistance system.
According to the government, ANSS will supervise the implementation of the new transitional support mechanisms and monitor their effectiveness. The agency will also conduct an evaluation study two years after the measures take effect in order to determine whether the reforms successfully encourage formal employment while preserving social stability.
The evaluation could lead to further adjustments and improvements depending on the results.
The government has repeatedly emphasized that the reform is intended to create a more integrated model linking social protection with economic inclusion.
Whether the new measures will fully solve the challenges at hand remains to be seen, as Morocco’s direct social aid system has previously faced criticism from citizens who say it can be difficult to qualify for assistance and easy to lose eligibility.
Thousands of applications had been rejected because families exceeded eligibility thresholds, while others complained that the Unified Social Registry sometimes considered access to basic items or services, including phone credit, internet use, or household equipment, when calculating socio-economic scores.
