In our country, every male who reaches the age of 20 is obliged to perform compulsory military service. Some people postpone their service for various reasons, or they may be exempt by paying for paid military service. One important issue for those with insurance is whether their social security contributions continue during military service. The question “Does Bağ-Kur continue while serving in the military?” is particularly important for many servicemen.
Bağ-Kur refers to the social security coverage for self-employed individuals, farmers, tradespeople, and others who do not work as employees in the public or private sector. Those insured under Bağ-Kur also pay premiums; by doing so they qualify for retirement and can access discounted health services and other benefits, similar to other types of social security.
Whether Bağ-Kur continues during military service is significant. People are covered by Bağ-Kur because of their status as taxpayers or company partners. This situation is addressed in Law No. 5510. According to this law, those who are covered by Bağ-Kur due to tax liability or company partnership cannot terminate their Bağ-Kur coverage simply because they enter military service if they have not ended their active status or dissolved their company shares.
When taxpayers or company partners go into the military, their civilian occupations and businesses typically continue to exist and do not automatically close. Even if the insured individual is absent, business activities may still continue. Since there is no event that terminates the insured status, Bağ-Kur coverage is not ended for these individuals.
In other words, those who are insured under Bağ-Kur and enter military service have the right to continue their insurance during that period if they choose. The categories that fall under this coverage are as follows:
- 4/1-(b)-1: Individuals who are subject to income tax on commercial earnings or professional income, either under the actual or simplified tax regime.
- 4/1-(b)-3: Members of the boards of directors of joint-stock companies, general partners in limited partnership companies whose capital is divided into shares, and all partners of other companies and shipping enterprises.
Accordingly, if people who are under Bağ-Kur or voluntary insurance go into the military and their insurance continues with regular premium payments while they serve, their dependents will continue to benefit from general health insurance. However, Bağ-Kur contributors whose coverage continues during military service cannot later claim military service debt repayment (askerlik borçlanması) for that period.
The situation differs for those who are not considered insured while serving. Under Law No. 5510, individuals who serve as privates or non-commissioned officers under arms, or who attend reserve officer schools, have the right to make military service debt repayments — the opposite rule to that applied to Bağ-Kur contributors whose insurance continues.
The rules are also different for persons insured under SSK or the Pension Fund (Emekli Sandığı). Those covered by SSK or the Pension Fund are unable to perform their civilian jobs actively while serving in the military; therefore, their insurance coverage is suspended during their service. After returning from service, these individuals may make a payment to count their military service toward retirement through askerlik borçlanması. In contrast, Bağ-Kur contributors differ because their coverage is not automatically suspended while they are absent from work; their premium obligations continue during their military service.