Many retired disabled workers wonder whether their pension will be stopped if they take a civil servant position due to being a relative of a martyr or veteran. If a retired disabled worker accepts a public servant post because of such status, their pension is suspended. After leaving the civil service, all periods of service are taken into account and the individual’s pension is recalculated and increased where applicable. Similarly, retirees or elderly pension recipients who begin working in public workplaces also see their pensions suspended while they hold the new post.
Under Article 30 of Law No. 5335, in force since 2005, individuals receiving old-age or retirement pensions from any social security institution are not allowed to hold positions in certain public entities without their pension being affected. These entities include unions and enterprises established by municipalities and special provincial administrations, organizations receiving budgetary assistance, other public institutions and organizations established by special laws, general budget departments, social security institutions, annexed budget administrations,
funds, municipalities, state economic enterprises, special provincial administrations and their affiliated institutions and enterprises, as well as other partnerships whose more than 50% of capital is publicly owned. In these organizations, pension recipients cannot be employed in any position, role or staff post without affecting their pension rights.
Based on this provision, if you did not hold any civil service before October 2008 — including services considered as civil service such as reserve officer duty or substitute teaching — you cannot receive a second pension for the civil servant position you are appointed to due to status as a relative of a martyr or veteran. After you leave civil service, your old-age pension is recalculated taking into account the periods you worked as a civil servant. In short, you cannot receive two separate pensions simultaneously as a worker and as a civil servant. Nevertheless, we recommend that you or your institution submit a written inquiry to SGK (Social Security Institution) and follow the response you receive.
Since you cannot be treated as having retired separately from civil service, you have two practical options. First, you may continue serving as a civil servant until you reach the age at which you would ordinarily retire. Second, you may leave civil service and apply to the Social Security Institution for a recalculation and possible increase of your disabled old-age pension based on all your service periods.