Under Law No. 5510, when an insured person dies, certain rights are provided to protect the beneficiaries and prevent hardship. These rights fall under death insurance and include the following benefits for eligible survivors:
- Death pension support,
- Lump-sum death payment,
- Marriage allowance for daughters who receive a pension,
- Funeral allowance.
Conditions for Granting a Death Pension
Certain conditions must be met for survivors to be granted a monthly death pension. When these conditions are satisfied, eligible beneficiaries can begin receiving the death pension.
The key conditions are:
- The deceased insured must have paid at least 1,800 days of disability, old-age and death insurance contributions. If the deceased was insured under 4/1-A, in addition to having no outstanding premium debt, they must have been insured for at least five years and have paid contributions equivalent to at least 900 days for disability, old-age and death insurance.
- The death must have occurred due to reasons listed in the relevant article, such as an accident, disability, duty-related disability, or while receiving an old-age pension or otherwise being a beneficiary.
- If a person who had been receiving disability pension, duty-related disability pension, or old-age pension later returned to insured employment and had those payments suspended, and then died, the death may qualify the survivors for a death pension.
When death occurs under the circumstances above, the deceased’s eligible survivors may be entitled to a death pension. Beneficiaries must submit a written petition to the competent institution to apply for the pension.
Lump-Sum Payment from Death Insurance
If an insured person covered by Bağ-Kur or SSK—or those registered in insurance branch 4/C on or after 01.10.2008—dies and no monthly death pension has been granted to survivors, a lump-sum payment calculated according to Article 31(1) and related provisions may be paid. The date of death is taken as the reference point for this calculation.
After determining eligibility, the amount that would have been paid as a monthly death pension is allocated among the entitled survivors based on the rules in Article 34, and the benefit is paid as a one-time lump-sum under the death insurance provisions.
Marriage Allowance
Daughters who receive a death pension lose that pension once they marry. If a daughter’s death pension is terminated because of marriage, she may apply for a one-time marriage allowance instead. The allowance can be paid either as a monthly equivalent or as a single payment calculated as twice the amount of her monthly income, according to the applicable rules.
If a daughter who lost her death pension due to marriage ends the marriage within two years, she may regain eligibility to receive the death pension. Until the two-year period has passed, she is not entitled to receive a pension or income. However, under Article 60(1), she is considered covered by general health insurance and remains eligible for state-provided health coverage.
When Is a Funeral Allowance Paid?
Certain conditions determine whether a funeral allowance is paid to the deceased insured person’s beneficiaries. One qualifying circumstance is when the insured dies as a result of a work accident or an occupational disease.
A funeral allowance is also provided when a person who has paid at least 360 days of disability, old-age and death insurance contributions dies. Survivors of those receiving permanent incapacity income, old-age pension, or duty-related disability pension are also eligible for a funeral allowance under the death insurance provisions.