2.5 million EYT retirees on the way... If the economy is in such dire straits, abolish parliamentary pensions!

Social Security Institution (SGK) Expert Özgür Erdursun stated that 2 million people have retired under the EYT law, and another 2.5 million will retire once they complete their required premium days. Reacting to the government's statements regarding the pensions of EYT retirees, Erdursun wrote the following:

“There were approximately 4.5 million people in our country who were insured until 08.09.1999 and covered by the EYT regulation. 

By the end of December 2023, 2 million people who were covered by the EYT and had completed their required premium days and insurance periods had retired.

In February 2023, there were 9.5 million retirees. This number has now risen to 11.5 million.

The remaining approximately 2.5 million EYT-covered individuals will retire once they complete their premium day requirements and, for men, their 25-year insurance period based on their initial insurance date (for those whose insurance began before the age of 18, the age of 18 is taken as the basis). 

The first applications began on 03.03.2023. Those who applied by the end of 2023 were, to some extent, people who followed the insurance system and retirement issues. 

There are millions of insured people who are covered by the EYT but are still unaware of this status. 

There are even those who have qualified for retirement but have not yet applied. 

So, how will the process work for the remaining 2.5 million people in the EYT group? 

According to the last 2,520 premium days, they must complete the number of premium days required by the status—4-a, 4-b, or 4-c—under which they have the most premium days. 

Minister of Labor Vedat Işıkhan had stated during the budget negotiations that when parliament opens this week, the premium day requirement for Bağ-Kur would be reduced from 9,000 days to 7,200 days. 

If there is a reduction in the premium day requirement for Bağ-Kur from 9,000 to 7,200 days for men, and from 7,200 to 5,400 days for women, those Bağ-Kur members who are covered by the EYT but could not retire because they could not complete the premium days will also be able to apply for retirement. 

We will learn whether the Bağ-Kur premium day regulation will apply to all Bağ-Kur members once the legislative proposal reaches parliament. 

Furthermore, the retirement periods for those who have missing premium days, cannot work, and cannot pay their premiums due to financial impossibilities will unfortunately continue to be delayed. 

The number of those who waited for January 2024 instead of 2023 to retire was high; the number of those who will apply for retirement starting from February 2024 will also drop significantly.

When the issue of salary increases for retirees comes to the agenda, government officials make statements such as 'We retired the EYT group, therefore we will provide a lower rate of increase.'

The EYT law was passed in 1999; it took exactly 24 years, until 2023, for a law to be enacted that would, to some extent, remedy the grievance. 

There were a total of 11 million people covered by the EYT; these people did not receive retirement pensions for 3, 5, 10, or 15 years. So, what happened to the retirement pensions that were not paid to the EYT group for 24 years? Did the government not evaluate these funds at all? Were they, so to speak, squandered? THE RIGHT GRANTED TO THE EYT GROUP IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN IN THE STATE'S COFFERS FOR YEARS!

If the country's economy is in such dire straits, abolish parliamentary pensions! Let there be no such thing as a parliamentary retiree! Why does the state pay a salary to a person who becomes a deputy voluntarily, even after their term ends, until they die, and even to their family after they pass away!