Egypt’s cabinet has approved a draft law establishing the “Takaful Fund to Support the Egyptian Family,” a state-backed entity designed to execute unpaid alimony and child support judgments, including school fees, and to provide financial aid to families lacking a primary breadwinner.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly confirmed the legislative move implements directives from President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to expedite the finalisation of family-related legislation, including the broader Family Law and the Family Law for Egyptian Christians, for parliamentary review.
The new non-profit entity, which holds a public legal personality, will replace the existing “Family Insurance System Fund,” assuming all of its rights and obligations. The draft law repeals Law No. 11 of 2004, which established the previous system, as well as Articles 71 to 75 of Law No. 1 of 2000 concerning personal status litigation procedures, alongside any other conflicting provisions.
Alimony, wages, and similar court-ordered payments will continue to be disbursed from the current Family Insurance System Fund according to existing rules for six months after the new law takes effect. Following this period, the Takaful Fund will initiate its own disbursements.
Headquartered in Cairo under the purview of the Minister of Social Solidarity, the fund may establish additional branches across the governorates. The entity aims to support families when convicted parties refuse to pay court-ordered expenses or for other reasons determined by the board. It will also assist families without breadwinners who lack a stable income to meet basic human needs. The draft law notes that the President of the Republic may decree additional family support services funded by the entity and determine relevant subscription categories.
The Minister of Social Solidarity is mandated to issue executive decisions to implement the law within two months of its effective date. Existing regulations will remain in force until then, provided they do not conflict with the new legislation.
The fund will be managed by a nine-member board of directors serving four-year terms, renewable once. The board, formed by the Minister of Social Solidarity, will feature a ministry representative serving as Vice Chairperson—and acting Chairperson in their absence—alongside representatives nominated by the ministers of Justice, Interior, Planning and Economic Development, and Finance. Three additional experts selected by the Social Solidarity Minister will complete the board, which retains the right to invite non-voting external experts to assist in its duties.
Board responsibilities include drafting the organisational structure alongside human resources, financial, administrative, and technical regulations. These frameworks require approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Agency for Organisation and Administration.
The board is also tasked with setting controls for collecting fund dues, verifying efforts to execute judgments, and confirming the inability to collect court-ordered payments. Furthermore, the board will establish protocols for disbursing funds and recovering them from convicted individuals, estimate exceptional cases warranting increased disbursements, designate physical and digital service locations, approve the annual draft budget and final accounts, and manage the entity’s resources.
The draft law designates the fund’s resources as public funds, exempting them from all taxes and fees within the scope of its mandate. It further establishes penalties for individuals who knowingly and wrongfully obtain funds for themselves or others, as well as for those who refuse to provide required data or delay submission without an acceptable excuse.
