Will the salary difference for new retirees be deposited into their accounts? An expert explains

While SSK and Bağ-Kur retirees welcomed the new year with a 15.75% raise, those who recently retired faced a 'lifetime' 30% reduction in their pensions.

Ahmet Kıvanç shared his thoughts in his column in Habertürk in response to a reader's question.

"I work at the municipality. I have 9,500 days of premiums from SSK. I had the right to retire under EYT in 2024, but I did not submit my retirement application. My pension, which appeared as 25,000 liras in December, has now dropped to 22,000 liras. I know that my pension will increase again with wage hikes. Will an opportunity be offered to those in my situation, like a zoning amnesty, to compensate for the loss in pension? Will a new regulation on this matter come to the agenda?

Those who submitted their retirement applications by December 31, 2024 (January 14, 2025, for public employees) will receive 30-31% more in lifetime pension compared to those who submit their applications in 2025 and beyond.

People who were eligible for retirement but could not retire for various reasons like you were shocked when they saw the difference between the pension appearing on e-Devlet in December and the pension in January. When the 15.75% January raise was applied to the amount they saw on e-Devlet in December, the difference reached the 31-32% level.

When national income data is announced at the end of February, pensions will be recalculated. When 30% of the increase in national income is reflected, the pension difference will reach the 30-31% level.

The pension you rounded to 25,000 TL in December would have reached 28,938 TL in January with a 15.75% raise. Instead, because your pension dropped to 22,000 TL, the difference between the two reaches 31.5%. With the reflection of growth in national income in April, this difference will come to approximately the 30.5% level.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security carried out a study in the summer months to compensate for the emerging difference. However, since the Ministry of Treasury and Finance did not look favorably upon such a regulation, no results were obtained from the study. There is no compensation regulation on the horizon for now.

However, people who will become eligible for retirement in the near future, such as in 2025 or 2026, have been very significantly affected by the difference that has emerged in pensions. When these people retire in 2025 or 2026, there will be a major loss in the pensions they will receive for life. Millions of people who will become eligible for retirement later are also affected by this loss.

If there is an intense demand from the public for a compensatory regulation, anything is possible. However, let me underline again, there is currently no preparation or intention for a compensatory regulation on the agenda."