Proposed pension increase rate on the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly

The year 2024 had been declared the 'year of the retiree,' but that did not turn out to be the case. Retirees were perhaps the ones most wounded by the ongoing economic crisis. Following the announcement of the minimum wage, the hike rate for retirees and civil servants was revealed, but this figure did not provide a remedy for the retirees' plight.

Stating that retirees cannot make ends meet with a hike rate of around 15.75 percent, DEM Party Istanbul MP Cengiz Çiçek brought the issue to the agenda of the TBMM.

Çiçek expressed that 16 million retirees are struggling with hunger and poverty, many are forced to work, and some have committed suicide.

The parliamentary question submitted by Çiçek is as follows:

"Ensuring that citizens who have spent the most productive times of their lives working can spend their retirement in peace and prosperity is one of the state's fundamental obligations, as stated in Article 60 of the Constitution: "Everyone has the right to social security. The state shall take the necessary measures and establish the organization to provide this security." However, today, a large portion of retirees are condemned to live under difficult conditions, with a salary far below the minimum wage and below the hunger threshold. The hikes made to pensions have no meaning in the face of high inflation and the deepening economic crisis. Retirees have continued to experience loss of rights since the beginning of the 2000s. The root cause of these grievances is Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance. With Law No. 5510, which entered into force in 2008, access to retirement became more difficult, the retirement age was raised, the conditions for obtaining a pension changed, and pensions began to decrease.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2024 the year of the retiree in his statement following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting held on January 16, 2024. Although 2024 was declared the year of the retiree, not only were the living conditions of retirees not improved, but the situation of retirees has worsened day by day and continues to do so. Over 16 million retirees are struggling with hunger, poverty, and housing problems. Millions of retirees are forced to work despite their advanced age, and they lose their lives in workplace homicides while working. Again, as we see in the news, retirees are being driven to suicide due to the struggle for livelihood and debts.

With all these conditions in mind, the December inflation data, which is of critical importance for millions of SSK and Bağ-Kur retirees as well as civil servants and civil servant retirees, was recently announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). According to TÜİK, inflation in December 2024 increased by 1.03 percent compared to the previous month, and annual inflation was 44.38 percent. Thus, the hike rate that SSK and Bağ-Kur retirees will receive based on the 6-month inflation difference, and the 6-month inflation difference that will determine the hike rate for civil servant and retiree salaries, emerged. Following the announced December inflation data, the finalized 6-month inflation difference will be reflected as a 15.75 percent hike in SSK and Bağ-Kur pensions. The lowest pension will be determined by new regulations to be made in January. The final figures will be shaped in the coming days in line with the Presidential Economic Coordination Board and TÜİK's inflation data. The 15.75 percent hike will not be reflected in the pensions of millions of retirees whose pension is below the base salary.

Contrary to the 2023 inflation of 44.38 percent announced by TÜİK, ENAG had announced annual inflation as 83.40 percent, and the ITO as 55.27 percent. According to the December 2024 data of the "Hunger and Poverty Threshold" study prepared every month by Türk-İş, the hunger threshold for a family of four rose to 21,083 TL, and the poverty threshold rose to 68,675 TL.

In this context;

1. Will you have any work to bring pensions, which are below the hunger threshold, to a level worthy of human dignity?

2. Will you carry out a joint study with relevant retiree organizations and unions to bring pensions, which are below the hunger threshold, to a level worthy of human dignity?

3. With the declaration of 2024 as the year of the retiree by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, what work has been done throughout 2024 regarding the improvement of the living conditions of retirees?

4. What kind of work are you planning to do for retirees in 2025?

5. Will you have any work aimed at improving retirement conditions, such as gradual retirement?

6. What is the number of retirees applying for social assistance?

7. What is the number of retirees who are forced to work despite being retired?

8. How many retired citizens who were forced to work despite being retired lost their lives in workplace homicides in 2024?"