This year will be the year of the retirees!

The year 2024 has been declared the 'Year of Retirees' in Turkey!

Retirees were overjoyed by this news! But the foreign retirees living in Turkey…

They perceived this as a special event.

They thought it was like when a year is declared the 'Year of the Endangered Fig Leaf Caterpillar' and events are organized throughout the year.

They expected Fig Leaf Caterpillar-themed poetry recitals, Fig Leaf Caterpillar model parades, and the like…

In reality, 2024 was intended as the 'Year of Retirees' in Turkey for our own retirees. But our retirees shouldn't have high expectations for this year!

The lowest pension was increased to 10 thousand TL. But it seems it will be hard to find a retiree who will celebrate this as a holiday…

According to Türk-İş data, the poverty line for a family of four exceeded 47 thousand liras in December 2023.

In other words, forget about a family of 4. If 4 retirees come together, they need to convince one more friend to form a 'five-in-one' partnership just to rise above the hunger threshold.

Let's move past the family of 4 and say, "The man is already retired. The children are grown up, let them fend for themselves."

But again, according to Türk-İş data, the cost of living for a single worker was announced as 18 thousand 796 TL in December. So, even if a retiree lives alone, with a 10 thousand TL pension, they don't even make a full living; they will live half a life!

So, what about the foreign retirees living in Turkey who are waiting for the Fig Leaf Caterpillar event?

Let me give you an example. I want to talk about a former nurse who worked for 25 years in the UK's NHS health system and retired voluntarily. Since she didn't want to give her name, I will refer to her as Sarah in this article. She didn't want to give her name because she lives in Turkey, in case someone recognizes her!

After working for 25 years, Sarah chose early retirement, even forfeiting some of her rights. And as soon as she retired, the desire to live in a warmer country prevailed, so she decided to settle in Turkey with her husband. She has been living in the warmest parts of Turkey for 12-13 years. Dalaman, Bodrum, İzmir…

Sarah and her husband have certainly warmed their bones…

I asked them how they live in Turkey.

Sarah said she receives a low pension because she retired early. The British state gives her a 'measly' 800 pounds…

That is an income of 31 thousand TL. They waited a bit for her husband's retirement. For the first few years, they lived in our paradise bays solely on Sarah's pension…

Now he also receives a 'measly' 800-pound pension. The pension received by the two British retirees amounts to more than 60 thousand TL in Turkey…

And this is money given without any other income, similar to a widow's or orphan's pension in Turkey. In the UK, you can increase your pension with some additional payments or by purchasing credits.

A detail in an article published by the BBC on this subject caught my eye.

"One of the reasons why retirees in Turkey struggle to make ends meet may be that increases in pensions have lagged behind increases in other salaries," the article read.

The lowest pension, which was 1.6 times the minimum wage in 2001, fell to 0.6 times the net minimum wage 22 years later.

Accordingly, if the ratio had remained the same, the pension as of January 2024 would have been 27 thousand TL.

Given this, we need to look at where Turkey stands when compared to Europe regarding the minimum wage.

The European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat) publishes data on the lowest and highest minimum wages in European countries. According to this data, last published in 2021, Turkey ranks 26th out of 27 countries. The only country it surpasses is Albania.

The Germans, who envy Turkey at every opportunity, are in first place in this field. The Italians are second…

So, even this list shows how happy foreign retirees living in Turkey are that 2024 is the 'Year of Retirees' in Turkey.

While Sarah and her husband warm their bones on our southern coasts, and German retirees rush to travel agencies saying, "Turkey has declared this year the year of retirees, let's go and participate in the events," our own retirees will celebrate this special year by returning home from the market with empty bags and on foot…