When a covered employee dies, the Social Security Institution provides lump-sum back payments of widow’s and orphan’s pensions to spouses and children who applied late. However, certain conditions must be met to claim these lump-sum payments.
How Are Retroactive Widow and Orphan Pension Payments Made?
Widow and orphan pensions begin for those entitled on the deceased insured person’s death date starting from the first day of the month following the death.
If no application was made, the pension assignment was not completed by the beginning of the month, or entitled spouses and children had not finished their applications, the pensions accumulated from the first day after the death until the period when the first payment is made are paid in a single lump sum to the beneficiaries from the date they become entitled to the pension.
For example, in the case of a 4B (Bağkur) insured person’s death, if the deceased had outstanding premium debt to the Social Security Institution, beneficiaries become entitled to the pension from the first day of the month following full repayment of that debt.
If a person was not entitled to a pension at the insured’s death but later obtained the right, entitlement begins from the first day of the month following the date the right was acquired. If the pension assignment procedures for that person are not completed by the beginning of the month following the application, the months between the start of entitlement and the first payment period will be paid as a lump sum.
Lump-Sum Payment Limited to Five Years
Under Law No. 5510, there is a time limit for retroactive payments of widow and orphan pensions. That limit is a maximum of five years. The law states: “Unless otherwise provided in this Law, income and pensions payable in cases of occupational accident, occupational disease, duty disability and death that should be granted shall be barred by limitation for the part not requested within five years from the date the right is acquired.”
When beneficiaries try to calculate the lump-sum amount, they often base the calculation on the most recent pension amount they receive, which can lead them to believe the Social Security Institution underpaid. For example, a widow who was granted a pension of 950 TL may multiply that monthly amount by the last 15 months to estimate a lump sum of 14,250 TL. However, the Social Security Institution does not calculate retroactive payments in that simple way.
How Retroactive Pensions Are Calculated
Calculation of retroactive pensions is based on the legislation that was in force on the insured person’s date of death, regardless of when the beneficiary applies or when pension payments actually started. In other words, the pension to be granted is computed using the rules applicable at the time of death, and increases that occurred up to the payment date are applied to determine the amount due.
Therefore, the lump sum paid to a beneficiary is not simply the most recent pension amount multiplied by the number of months. Instead, the retroactive payment is calculated from the date the beneficiary originally became entitled to the pension using the rates and rules applicable from that time. All past amounts that would have been payable are included in the calculation as of the application date, and the total lump-sum for retroactive widow and orphan pensions is determined accordingly.