With the implementation of the long-awaited increases for many minimum-wage earners, civil servants and retirees, the lowest civil servant salary will rise to 22,000 TRY and retirees will receive a 25% raise. The news also pleased those who will retire under the EYT regulation, and the question of the “refah payı” (welfare share) has become prominent. At the same time, this legal regulation, which provides an additional increase of 8,077 TRY to civil servants’ salaries, will be enacted by the Grand National Assembly and come into force. Below you can find details about the raises for retirees and civil servants and answers to common questions about the welfare share.
1. Will the civil servant raise be considered when calculating severance pay?
For severance pay, only changes in the civil servant salary coefficient will be taken into account. This additional payment will not be included in the base for determining financial and social rights such as salary, allowances, monthly payments, compensation, bonuses, revolving fund payments or similar items. The severance pay ceiling will remain in effect until year-end at 23,490 TRY. The increase will affect employees with gross salaries above 20,000 TRY who become eligible to receive severance pay during the July–December period.
2. Will those who retire under EYT in March benefit from the raise?
Those who applied in March under the EYT framework acquired the right to retire as of April 1. There is no distinction between social insurance branches regarding the raises. All retirees, including those covered by EYT, will receive a 25% increase.
3. Will the flat additional payment to civil servants be subject to taxes?
An additional payment of 8,077 TRY will be made to all civil servants. Except for the stamp tax, this payment will not be subject to social security deductions or other taxes.
4. Has the minimum retirement pension changed, and does the new raise apply to that amount?
The minimum retirement pension will continue to be applied as 7,500 TRY until January 2024. The 25% raise will be applied to retirees’ base pensions. For those whose base pension is below 5,000 TRY, the pension will continue to be paid at 7,500 TRY after July. For example, someone with a base pension of 7,000 TRY will receive 8,750 TRY after a 25% increase, regardless of whether they are EYT, SSK or BAĞ-KUR retirees. Base pension amounts can be viewed through e-Government (e-devlet).
5. What are the new minimum pensions for SSK, BAĞ-KUR and civil servant retirees?
Following the latest adjustment, the minimum civil servant retirement pension rose to 9,877 TRY. For SSK retirees, the pension is 7,616 TRY for pre-2000 retirees and 4,720 TRY for those retired after 2000. BAĞ-KUR pensions are 5,549 TRY, and BAĞ-KUR (agriculture) pensions are 4,268 TRY.
6. Will the increased salaries be paid this month?
The regulation is expected to pass the Assembly this week and then come into effect. Civil servant retirees will receive the first payments on the 15th of the month, while SSK and BAĞ-KUR retirees will receive payments between July 17 and July 28.
7. How will salaries change with the civil servant raise?
Under this regulation, a specialist civil servant in the public sector will see a salary of 22,938 TRY. Estimated monthly salaries for other public positions are shown below:
- Expert teacher: 29,538 TRY
- Teacher (4/1): 26,654 TRY
- Police officer: 29,525 TRY
- Professor: 48,124 TRY
- Department manager with university degree: 32,451 TRY
- Specialist physician: 54,959 TRY
- Nurse with university degree: 26,440 TRY
- Engineer (1/4): 33,122 TRY
- Public service attendant: 20,376 TRY
8. How much welfare share will civil servant, SSK and BAĞ-KUR retirees receive?
Previously announced increases were 19.77% for SSK and 17.55% for the Civil Servants’ Pension Fund. These rates will be completed to reach 25%, which means SSK and BAĞ-KUR retirees will receive an additional 5.23 percentage points and civil servant retirees will gain 7.45 percentage points as welfare share with this regulation.