Many tradespeople who lack insurance or whose insurance premiums were not paid are unable to retire, leaving them in difficult situations and forcing them to seek alternative solutions. Under current regulations, those without proper insurance coverage generally do not have a path to retirement.
How Can Tradespeople Without Insurance Entry Retire?
It is well known that a large number of self-employed workers registered under Bağ-Kur (4B) experienced unpaid premiums, low pension amounts in past years, limited health benefits and restricted social security rights. There are two key reference years—2000 and 2008—affecting tradespeople who did not register or whose registrations were not completed.
For those who had not registered under Bağ-Kur (4B) by 2000, authorities allowed an additional six-month period to complete registration and records. For those who did not register within that framework, any insurance rights and obligations were considered to start from 04.10.2000. For people whose Bağ-Kur registrations were completed between 2000 and 2008 and who met the necessary conditions, Bağ-Kur coverage could be recognized starting from 2000.
Situation for Those Between 2000 and 2008
The status of individuals who entered Bağ-Kur or should have entered it during 2000–2008 but did not have their registrations completed gained legal clarity from 2008 onward. Authorities requested that those who had not registered before 2008 complete their records within a six-month period beginning in 2008. Even when tax, chamber or commercial registry records exist for periods before 2008 that would normally indicate insured activity, the Social Security Institution (SGK) cannot retroactively charge premiums for those earlier periods based solely on those records.
Therefore, lacking an official Bağ-Kur registration for periods before 2008 means that tax or chamber registrations from those years do not automatically confer Bağ-Kur insurance rights. In other words, even if someone had tax records or company partnership status that suggest they should have been insured before 2008, if they had no Bağ-Kur registration at the time, they cannot legally obtain retroactive service time by paying those past premiums. Consequently, for people without Bağ-Kur registration prior to 2008, official insurance rights and obligations are considered to begin from 2008, and premiums can only be paid starting from that date.
What Is Being Requested?
This situation has caused hardship for many, and affected tradespeople are seeking remedies. The central demand is to allow thousands of tradespeople to retire by recognizing their tax and chamber registrations as valid evidence of insurance start dates. Previously, tax registration dates were accepted as insurance start dates for some artisans and tradespeople, but many could not take advantage of this due to financial constraints.
Many tradespeople who operated businesses and had tax or chamber records prior to 4 October 2000 but lacked Bağ-Kur registration continue to face difficulties. Allowing these individuals to make retroactive contributions based on their chamber and tax records when they reach retirement age could resolve many of the grievances. Similarly, those who had the necessary conditions for insurance and had tax or chamber registration but did not register with Bağ-Kur should have their insurance recognized as originating before 2000. If a regulation were introduced to treat the period prior to 4 October 2000 as a basis for recognition, uninsured tradespeople would gain clearer pathways to retirement.