Beware of small mistakes in retirement planning: Delays of up to 10 years possible

Citizens waiting for retirement who fall outside the scope of the EYT (Retirement at Age of Entitlement) regulation are looking for various ways to avoid making mistakes in the system. Social Security Expert Özgür Erdursun, in a recent broadcast, explained the most common mistakes with examples and issued striking warnings.

According to Erdursun, incorrectly processed birth debt borrowing and erroneous insurance status selections lead to both financial losses and the risk of retiring much later than expected.

Explaining through an example, Erdursun shared the situation of a female employee born in 1987 who had her first insurance entry in 2006. The employee in question has a total of 4,897 premium days and has made 360 days of birth debt borrowing. However, stating that this borrowing was unnecessary, Erdursun noted that the person could retire in 2045, at the age of 58, even with the existing days.

"DOES NOT MEAN 25 YEARS OF UNINTERRUPTED PREMIUMS"

Speaking about the 25-year insurance period that confuses the public, Erdursun stated that this period refers to the time elapsed since the initial insurance start date, not to paying premiums without interruption. He noted that it is sufficient for the insured to meet a certain number of days (for example, 9,000 days) and a certain period since the start of insurance, rather than 25 years of uninterrupted premiums.

COSTS MAY RISE IN BAĞKUR TRANSITIONS

Warning company partners under the Bağkur status to be careful in their retirement planning, Erdursun reminded that if more than 1,261 days of the last 2,520 days belong to Bağkur, the retirement conditions will revert to Bağkur. This means a requirement to pay 9,000 premium days. Stating that Bağkur premiums will continue to be paid as long as the company partnership continues, Erdursun pointed out that there could be a significant increase in costs in the long term.

Stating that a regulation promising hope for those waiting for phased retirement does not seem possible in the short term, the expert noted that he does not expect the age requirement to be completely relaxed in potential changes, but there could be a slight reduction in the age requirement.

ERROR-FREE PLANNING SAVES YEARS

In another case, Erdursun said that a person born in 1973 not noticing their first insurance entry in 1990 for a long time left them facing the danger of retiring 10 years late, emphasizing that insurance start dates and premium days must be checked meticulously. The person in question realized they could have retired earlier after learning their entry date via e-Devlet, but lost their advantage due to missing premiums and incorrect planning.

Stating that birth debt borrowing does not always provide an advantage, Erdursun showed with examples that high borrowing amounts might not compensate for the pension to be received in the future. Instead, he suggested that it might be more advantageous to complete 3,600 premium days and spend the last 1,261 days under the 4A scope to retire according to the age requirement.

Touching upon the fact that the pension difference for those retiring from Bağkur can reach serious levels, Erdursun said, "The pension of those retiring from Bağkur with the lowest premium can be 30-35 percent lower than that of SSK. Status preference and planning are therefore very important."

Finally, Erdursun underlined that careful planning of the insurance start date, premium days, and the status under which one will retire is essential. Even a small detail can mean retirement up to 10 years late or the loss of thousands of liras. He stated that birth debt borrowing, in particular, should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and a detailed calculation should be made before making a decision.

News Source: 12punto