Deleted or Frozen Days Can Be Added to Retirement
Many people are closely watching a new restructuring bill expected to pass the parliament. The draft law prepared by the Ministry of Labor includes provisions that affect millions waiting to retire. In addition to restructuring social security premium debts, the bill contains clauses that would allow tax debts and frozen service days to be included in retirement calculations. According to these provisions, canceled or frozen Bağ-Kur premium periods can be reactivated and counted toward retirement. By reactivating previously unpaid premiums and adding them to the periods used to calculate retirement, contributors may become eligible for a higher pension and may be able to retire earlier.
Under the 2015 restructuring and amnesty law, those with premium debts exceeding 12 months had their debts and interest reduced so that outstanding periods were limited to 12 months, and related health service coverage was suspended. For contributors who reduced their debts to 12 months, the new regulation would offer an additional option: periods that were frozen or deleted due to unpaid debts could be reactivated. As a result, frozen service days would be counted in the retirement computation, enabling contributors to retire earlier based on the full duration of service they paid for and to receive a higher pension because the reactivated premiums would be included in the pension base. When enacted, this law is expected to benefit virtually all Bağ-Kur insured persons; estimates suggest nearly 1 million Bağ-Kur contributors could take advantage of the change, with a conservative expectation of around 750,000 beneficiaries.
How Will Reactivation Work?
Once the draft law is passed and published in the Official Gazette, Bağ-Kur insured persons who wish to reactivate frozen periods must apply in person to the Provincial Social Security Directorate. Applications must be submitted on a printed petition. After applying, the administration will calculate the amount of the frozen or deleted debt and grant a three-month payment period for the contributor to settle the balance. Those who pay the calculated amount within that three-month window should then submit a new petition, together with proof of payment, requesting that the paid premiums and the corresponding service days be added to the retirement calculation. It is important to note that reactivation requires paying the entire suspended period: even if you need fewer days to qualify for retirement, the full suspended period must be paid to reactivate it.
If you do not pay the reactivation fee within the three-month deadline specified in your petition, your reactivation request will be canceled and the calculated frozen debt will be removed from the system. If a request is canceled for nonpayment, you can later reapply and request a new calculation to reactivate the owed period.
How Is the Amount Calculated?
When calculating the premiums to be reactivated, the following method is applied: the calculation uses the current earnings base for premiums in effect on the date you submit your application. The daily premium rate for the suspended period is multiplied by the number of suspended days, and 34.5% of that result represents the amount to be paid. Once this debt is officially notified to you, it must be paid within three months. After payment, you must submit the payment receipt and a new petition to the Provincial Social Security Directorate. With the second petition you request that the reactivated premiums and service days be included in your updated retirement calculation. After these procedures are completed, your revised retirement record will reflect the reactivated days, which may allow you to retire earlier by the amount of the restored service period.
Because this bill could open the door to early retirement for nearly 1 million waiting retirees, many candidates are closely following its progress through parliament.