Pension after 7200 working days: Erdogan abolishes the retirement age in Turkey
Created: 01/13/2023 15:20
By: Patricia Huber
With the abolition of the retirement age, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is giving his potential voters an early election gift.
© IMAGO/Turkish presidency \ apaimages
Retire after less than 30 years of work: what sounds like a dream to many will soon be reality in Turkey – with unforeseeable consequences.
Ankara/Istanbul – In Germany, raising the statutory retirement age is currently being discussed.
In the future, people could retire at 70 instead of 67.
This would counteract the shortage of skilled workers and relieve the pension funds.
However, this does not cause much enthusiasm among the Germans.
Meanwhile, what is happening in Turkey is what would probably be a dream for many German soon-to-be retirees: the entry age is being abolished.
Pension in Turkey: 7200 days of work are enough
At the end of December, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the big step.
A corresponding law is to be passed in January.
Then the retirement age of 60 years for men and 58 years for women no longer applies.
A simple rule follows: anyone who has worked 7,200 days subject to social security contributions can retire, reports
tagesschau.de.
For comparison: Anyone who worked five days a week in Bavaria in 2022 had around 250 working days.
With the new regulation, as in Turkey, you could retire after around 29 years of work.
So if you start working at the age of 16, for example with an apprenticeship, you could retire at the age of 45.
According to
focus.de
, only state employees have to work longer.
The limit for them is 9000 days.
Turks are enthusiastic: "You should take advantage of it"
The Turkish population is enthusiastic about this new rule.
Long queues form in front of the pension and social insurance offices.
The toy salesman Murat told
tagesschau.de
that it was “actually too early” to retire at the age of 49.
"But if the state offers you this opportunity, you should take advantage of it, right?" Under the old system, he would have had to work for eleven more years.
The 54-year-old Fatma is also happy about the new regulation.
"My husband is retired, but what's the use of a single pension salary?
And yet: God bless Tayyip Erdogan!
Yes, everything has become more expensive, but that's not his fault, "she made her point of view clear to
tagesschau.de
.
Turkey has been hit hard because of the collapse of the national currency, the lira.
Inflation is currently at 80 percent.
Retirement does not mean retirement - many continue to work anyway
Erdogan's new regulations are particularly good for employees because they can draw a pension and still be able to work.
This is particularly useful for citizens who are currently unable to make ends meet due to the difficult economic situation.
The new pension regulation does not mean that more people in Turkey can put their feet up.
Rather, it is likely to be used as an additional source of income.
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However, experts see this critically.
"This is at the expense of future generations," said the scientist and economic expert Senol Babuscu the Turkish TV channel Karar, as reported by
tagesschau.de
.
"How much damage we will inflict on future generations remains to be seen." It will also be expensive for the state.
According to the Turkish Minister of Labor, the regulation should cost the equivalent of at least five billion euros.
Many suspect that Erdogan wants to buy the favor of the voters.
After all, the parliamentary elections in Turkey are due again in 2023.
An Istanbul resident made it clear to
tagesschau.de
what he thinks of the current president's tactics: "It's an election gift." Erdogan knows "his days are numbered".
(ph)