Questions frequently asked about maternity premium repayment (birth debt) include who can apply, how much must be paid, how many years can be credited per number of children, and which documents and conditions are required. With the expansion of its scope, rights granted by law have been extended through omnibus legislation.
Now available to more people, maternity premium repayment is a provision similar to the military service premium repayment available to men. The calculation is based on the insured mother’s daily earnings. Another benefit of this arrangement is that it allows the mother to spend more time caring for her child while preserving her social security status.
What Is Maternity Premium Repayment?
Maternity premium repayment, a type of service repayment, has been in effect since 2008. It is designed so that women who give birth are not left without social security coverage while they are caring for their newborn. By counting these periods toward insured service, maternity premium repayment affects entitlement to retirement. The credited days are added to pension contribution periods, which can shorten the time needed to qualify for retirement. In short, women who cannot work because of childbirth can pay the repayment premiums to have these non-working periods included in their insured service and thus qualify for retirement earlier.
Eligibility Conditions for Maternity Premium Repayment
The conditions required for maternity premium repayment are as follows:
- The first condition is that the woman must have been working under insurance before giving birth.
- She must have been insured under one of the systems such as SSK (insurance for employees), Emekli Sandığı (civil servants’ fund), Bağ-Kur (self-employed), or voluntary insurance before giving birth.
- The child must be born alive. If the child dies within two years, repayment is calculated for the number of days the child lived.
- The woman must not have worked during the two years following birth. If she did work during part of that period, repayment is calculated only for the days she did not work.
- Maternity premium repayment can be used up to three times. If there are more than three births, the applicant must choose which three births to claim for.
- A maximum of two years can be repaid per child. For three children, up to six years can be credited in total. When the law was amended, the scope expanded from repayment for two children to repayment for up to three children.
Where Should Bağ-Kur Insured Persons Apply?
- a) Women covered by Bağ-Kur (self-employed insurance) who meet the necessary conditions should apply to the Social Security Provincial Directorate (Social Security Center) where their Bağ-Kur files are kept. A few years ago, with the expansion of the scope of insured classes, women who gave birth while insured can apply retroactively by submitting a repayment request petition. A photocopy of the applicant’s ID is required with the petition.
- b) Women employed under SSK can apply to the Social Security Provincial Directorate for maternity premium repayment. Applications are processed according to SGK (Social Security Institution) records.
- c) Women insured under Emekli Sandığı (civil servants’ scheme) who wish to claim maternity premium repayment must first apply to the Insured Registration and Service Department Directorate within the Social Security Institution’s General Directorate of Social Insurances.
Who Is Considered Bağ-Kur Insured?
According to Law No. 5510, people considered within Bağ-Kur include:
- Neighborhood and village headmen (muhtars)
- Independent/self-employed workers
- Persons engaged in agricultural activities
Women eligible to request maternity premium repayment under SGK, civil servant schemes and Bağ-Kur were originally limited to certain groups, but changes in the law extended these rights. This extension allows more women to reach the required pension days earlier.
Required Documents for Maternity Premium Repayment
- Repayment request petition
- Photocopy of identity document
When applying, the woman must bring a photocopy of her identity document. Along with the ID copy, it is sufficient for the applicant to complete the application form corresponding to her insurance type (SSK, Bağ-Kur or Emekli Sandığı).
Repayment Amounts
| Maternity Premium Repayment | ||
| 1 child | 720 days | 15,580.80 TL |
| 2 children | 1,440 days | 31,161.60 TL |
| 3 children | 2,160 days | 46,742.40 TL |
If a working insured woman continues to work until three weeks before the expected birth date, her postnatal rest period (eight weeks after a single birth, ten weeks for multiple births) is added to the credited period, allowing up to two years of repayment. The daily premium amount for a two-year repayment corresponds to a specified daily rate (for example, 18 TL per day in the table calculation) multiplied by the total number of days being repaid.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maternity Premium Repayment
- The woman must have been insured before and at the time of birth. No premiums should have been paid on her behalf during the period she intends to repay; otherwise repayment is not allowed for that period.
- Repayment can be used at most three times. Women with more than three children cannot claim repayment for the additional births under Bağ-Kur or other SGK schemes.
- A woman who did not have paid contributions or work for 24 months (2 years) after giving birth may repay 720 days for one child and up to 2,160 days for three children. If a second child is born before two years have passed since the first birth, repayment for the first child covers up to the day before the second birth; then a new two-year repayment period can be claimed for the second child.
- The repayment daily rate is calculated as a percentage of the gross daily minimum wage; that daily rate is multiplied by the total number of days to determine the amount payable to SGK.
- If a Bağ-Kur insured woman’s child dies after some time, she can later request repayment for the period equal to the child’s lifetime.
- Although maternity premium repayment entered into force in 2008, it applies to births that occurred before 2008 as long as the woman was insured before birth. In such cases, women can request retroactive repayment for those earlier births.