Disability retirement (malulen emeklilik) refers to a situation where a worker insured under 4A (SSK employee), a self-employed person insured under 4B (Bağ-Kur), or a civil servant insured under 4C (Emekli Sandığı) loses at least 60% of their earning capacity in their profession as a result of a workplace accident or an occupational disease. When this threshold is met, the person is classified as disabled and may qualify for disability retirement.
To be eligible for disability retirement, the person must generally have been insured for at least 10 years. In addition, they must have completed 1,800 days of contributions to the long-term insurance branches that cover disability, old-age and survivors’ insurance. You can find detailed information about the disability retirement objection petition (Malulen emeklilik itiraz dilekçesi) in this article.
The key criterion for disability retirement is a loss of earning capacity of 60% or more. If the loss is below 60%, the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu, SGK) does not recognize it as disability for retirement purposes. For example, even if the loss of earning capacity is 59%, SGK treats that situation as loss of work capacity rather than the specific occupational earning capacity required for disability retirement.
In such cases, the person cannot obtain disability retirement. To protect the rights of affected individuals, the right to file a lawsuit under Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance is preserved.
Disability Retirement Appeal Process
The appeal process for disability retirement consists of several steps. Under Law No. 5510, individuals who suffer disability due to a work accident or occupational disease—whether employees, civil servants, or self-employed—must submit a request to the Social Security Institution office that serves their workplace or place of residence.
This request must be made in writing as a formal application for disability retirement. After receiving the application, SGK arranges a medical board examination to determine the degree of disability. If SGK concludes that the reported disability rate is insufficient and refuses the disability retirement application, the individual has the right to object to the SGK High Medical Board (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu Yüksek Sağlık Kurulu).
The SGK High Medical Board reviews the objection petition and the reported disability rate. It can correct errors that arise from material or procedural mistakes. If the High Medical Board also rejects the disability report and the request for disability retirement, the individual may take the case to the Labor Court (İş Mahkemesi).
Generally, the disability percentage determined by the SGK medical board after examination is considered definitive. However, mistakes can occur, which is why the High Medical Board reviews objection petitions submitted for disability retirement. The final administrative decision is issued by the SGK High Medical Board.
Individuals who become disabled due to a work accident or occupational disease and who are declared disabled have a six-month period to file an objection to the SGK medical board decision. Those who submit a disability retirement objection petition within six months are evaluated by the SGK High Medical Board.
If an individual misses the six-month objection period, SGK will still examine the written petition from the beginning.
Applicants who object to the SGK High Medical Board’s decision on their disability report may, if they wish, request that a doctor they nominate be heard before the SGK High Medical Board.
To do so, the individual must formally request this in writing to SGK. The High Medical Board will review the request and, if there is no obstacle, schedule the date and time for the hearing.
The hearing date and time are notified to the disabled applicant in writing by the secretary of the SGK High Medical Board. If the nominated doctor does not appear at the scheduled hearing, the SGK High Medical Board will make a final decision without that testimony.
After all administrative remedies are exhausted, persons who became disabled because of a work accident or occupational disease retain the right to file a lawsuit at the Labor Court under Law No. 5510. Such actions can be initiated by submitting an appropriate petition.