Since 2008, women who worked under insured schemes in Turkey have been granted the right to have periods after childbirth credited toward their retirement by paying social security contributions. Known as “maternity debt repayment” (doğum borçlanması), this provision allows mothers to spend more time with their children while preserving their entitlement to retirement benefits. This right has had several positive effects, notably by improving the total number of contributory days required for retirement.
Although the law initially applied only to employees covered by SSK, later amendments extended the right to women insured under Bağ-Kur and the Emekli Sandığı (civil servant pension scheme). As a result, women who began insured employment before giving birth may be eligible to request maternity debt repayment. The arrangement is comparable, in purpose, to the military service debt repayment available to men.
Applying for Maternity Debt Repayment for Bağ-Kur Insured Women
A Bağ-Kur insured woman must submit her maternity debt repayment application to the Social Security Center (Sosyal Güvenlik Merkezi) where her file is kept. Women insured under SSK should apply to the Social Security Center associated with their most recent employer or service place. Civil servants covered by the Emekli Sandığı must apply to the SGK Social Insurance General Directorate, Department of Insured Registration and Service.
The Bağ-Kur insured woman must have been working as an insured person before the birth and must apply through the Social Security Center where her Bağ-Kur file is kept. For Bağ-Kur insureds, the maternity debt repayment applies to up to three children born after the start of Bağ-Kur insurance. If the insured woman meets the necessary conditions, she may request up to 2,160 days of maternity debt repayment.
The maternity debt repayment does not change the insured’s original insurance start date. A common misconception is that it moves the start date earlier; in fact, the repayment does not alter the registration date but reduces the additional working time required by increasing the credited contributory days toward retirement.
Conditions for Maternity Debt Repayment
The first condition is that the woman must be insured under one of the social security branches (Bağ-Kur, SSK, or Emekli Sandığı). Under Law No. 5510, Bağ-Kur covers self-employed persons, those engaged in agricultural activities, and village or neighborhood muhtars. The specific conditions for a Bağ-Kur insured woman to benefit from maternity debt repayment are as follows:
- The woman must have been insured before the birth. It is sufficient that her first insurance entry occurred before the child’s birth. If the child was born before the woman’s insurance began, she cannot claim repayment for that child.
- No contributions should have been paid on behalf of the insured woman after the birth. If contributions were paid after birth, the applicant can claim repayment only for the period between the birth and the date contributions began to be paid. To claim the full two-year repayment per child, no contributions must have been paid for 24 months after the birth.
- The child must have been born alive. If the child dies within the two-year period counted for repayment, repayment can be claimed only up to the date of death.
- A Bağ-Kur insured woman can request maternity debt repayment for up to three children. Eligible applicants can submit their applications easily once they meet the conditions. Each live-born child entitles the mother to a specific number of days of credited service.
- The entitlement is up to 720 days per child; for three children the total is up to 2,160 days.
- Contribution periods paid within 24 months after the child’s birth are deducted from the total repayment days.
- If a woman has another child before the two-year period is completed, the repayment period for the first child stops at the date of the second birth, and a new two-year period begins for the second child.
Calculation of Maternity Debt Repayment
A Bağ-Kur insured woman who applies for maternity debt repayment can calculate the amount based on her pensionable earnings within the minimum and maximum bases. In 2018, for example, the repayment amount for 720 days was calculated at 15,580 TL, while the maximum calculation for 2,160 days was 46,742 TL. Accordingly, the approximate repayment amounts would be 15,580 TL for one child, 31,161.60 TL for two children, and 46,742.40 TL for three children.
If contributions were paid on behalf of the woman after the birth, those paid periods are not included in the repayment calculation. The total of paid contribution days within the two-year entitlement is deducted from the two-year limit, and only the remaining days can be repaid. If a child dies during the period for which repayment would be claimed, repayment is limited to the days up to the date of death.
When a woman gives birth to a second child before two years have elapsed since the first birth, she may claim repayment for the days between the first and second births, and then start a new two-year repayment period for the second child. In cases where these specific situations do not apply, women who meet the general conditions should submit their applications to the relevant authority to benefit fully from the maternity debt repayment right.
Documents Required for Maternity Debt Repayment
- The insured woman (Bağ-Kur, SSK, or Emekli Sandığı) must complete a written application petition requesting maternity debt repayment.
- A photocopy of her identity card is required and should be provided with the application.
- Eligible women can submit the repayment petition and identity photocopy to the SGK Provincial Directorate where their Bağ-Kur file is kept to complete the application process.