One in 4 retirees in Turkey continue working due to economic strain
Nearly 4 million retirees in Turkey, amounting to about one-fourth of all retirees in the country, continue to work, according to Turkey Retirees Association (TUED).
According to data from the Social Security Institution (SGK) from March 2024, approximately 1.94 million of these individuals are working to pay their social security support premiums. TUED Chair Kazım Ergün says that the other half are employed informally.
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This figure represents a significant portion of the more than 16 million individuals receiving retirement and old-age pensions from SGK. Ergün pointed out that many retirees are compelled to work due to economic hardships.
Ergün proposed that increasing pension amounts could enable retirees to stop working, thereby opening up job opportunities for the younger generation.
He also argued for the need to provide additional benefits to retirees who continue to work and contribute to SGK. Ergün stressed the importance of incentivizing registered employment among retirees, suggesting that the premiums paid by working retirees should somehow be returned to them, which would result in an increase in their pension payments.
The statistics provided by Ergün show that the number of retirees who continue to work and pay social security support premiums has more than doubled since 2017, reaching nearly 2 million, with about 500,000 of them in Istanbul alone.
General statistics on retirees in Turkey as of June 2024
- Total Number of Retirees: There are 15.85 million retirees in Turkey, an increase of approximately 1.25 million compared to 2021. Half of the retirees reside in the top 10 metropolitan areas.
- Distribution of Retirees: SSK Retirees: 10.52 million, BAĞ-KUR Retirees: 2.85 million, Government Pension Fund Retirees: 2.48 million.
- Pension Amounts: The average pension is 11,566 liras (as of July 2024), with the lowest at 5,500 liras and the highest at 38,400 liras.
- Retirement Age: 65 for men and 60 for women (58 under certain conditions).
- Additional Information: The average age of retirees in Turkey is 68.5, with 42% male and 58% female. 64% are SSK retirees, 18% are BAĞ-KUR retirees, and 18% are Government Pension Fund retirees.
(AEK/VK)
