Watch your premium days for retirement: A miscalculation could cost you millions of liras

With the new regulation, the number of premium days required for tradespeople to retire has been brought to the same level as SSK-insured workers — that is, reduced to 7 thousand 200 days.

Along with this change, the 1,261-day rule, which affects salary calculations, has also been revised. Retirement pensions are now calculated based on the last 7 years of premium payments made up to the insured person's retirement date.

SGK Expert Özgür Erdursun, in a statement made via social media, drew attention to the importance of the 1,261-day rule.

Erdursun stated that those who overlook this rule may delay their retirement and suffer serious financial losses. For example, he noted that a man born in 1978 who started work on 1 March 1997 must have the last 1,261 days covered under SSK in order to be able to retire through SSK.

THE PREMIUM DAY RULE AND RETIREMENT

Erdursun said that those who are unaware of the 1,261-day rule and fail to submit their retirement applications on time could lose a monthly pension of 14,469 TL and may be forced to continue making Bağ-Kur premium payments. He emphasized that, under current conditions, this situation could result in a loss of at least 2 million 59 thousand TL.

Erdursun noted that in order to retire through Bağ-Kur, the number of premium days must be completed to 9 thousand days, while to retire through SSK, at least 1,261 days of SSK-insured employment are required. In this case, retirement may be possible at best 3 years, 6 months, and 1 day later.

As Erdursun stated in his social media post, "Those who do not pay attention to the 1,261-day rule under Bağ-Kur will extend their retirement and lose millions of liras." He therefore warned that retirement planning must be carried out with great care.