Deductions applied to pensions are controlled exclusively by the Social Security Institution (SGK). Banks or private creditors cannot directly deduct from a pension without authorization; only SGK-related debts such as contribution arrears or health service contributions are collected from pension payments.
Retirees who regularly visit and are examined at public hospitals must pay the specified outpatient fee for those services. Health contributions that apply when medicines are obtained are also deducted directly from pension payments. The steps to check “pension deductions” are explained in detail below.
What Types of Pension Deductions Exist?
Any official deductions or debts to the Social Security Institution are taken directly from the pension payment. Apart from SGK-ordered deductions, there will be no automatic deductions from the bank account where the pension is paid, and pensions are not subject to mortgages. SGK’s direct deductions are taken from the amount that would be credited to the retiree’s account; no separate payment process is required.
Executory offices, banks or other units cannot unilaterally deduct from pensions without the retiree’s consent. If a retiree has granted a bank access or a block authorization to their pension account under a loan or other contract, certain restrictions may be applied by the bank. When the state makes pension deductions, fees for public or private hospital tests and examinations are taken into account.
Other than examination fees, insurance contribution arrears and medication fees, retirees should not face additional deductions. Holiday bonuses of 1,000 TL paid before Ramadan and Eid al-Adha are also not subject to deductions.
How to Check Pension Deductions?
The e-Government (e-Devlet) system is used to query deductions made from pensions by the Social Security Institution or other authorized entities. Key details of the deduction inquiry process through e-Devlet are listed below:
- People retired under 4A, 4B or 4C insurance schemes can check their pension payments via the e-Devlet platform.
- After clicking the “Giriş Yap” (Log In) option on the e-Devlet homepage, authenticate with your T.C. identity number and e-Devlet password.
- Once logged in, reasons, dates and amounts of any deductions will be displayed.
- Those who wish to contest deductions can file an objection with the Social Security Institution.
What Is the Public Hospital Examination Fee and Why Is It Charged?
Retirees receiving treatment, examinations or tests at public hospitals must pay insurance participation fees for each service. Health service fees deducted from retirees’ pensions correspond to the participation amounts that employed insured patients pay at pharmacies, but for retirees these amounts are deducted automatically from their pension rather than collected in cash. Patients without insurance who want to be examined at a public hospital must pay a 50 TL service fee at the hospital cashier.
Insured retirees who receive a pension pay only 6 TL per examination. This fee is not collected in cash at the hospital but is directly deducted from the pension for that month. The examination fee was 5 TL in 2019 and was increased by 20% to 6 TL from 2020. In training and research hospitals, insured patients and retirees pay 7 TL per examination. The co-payment in university hospitals is 8 TL. Patients seen by family physicians at health centers do not pay an examination participation fee.
What Documents Are Required for an SGK Retirement Application?
The documents typically required for an SGK retirement application include the following:
- Original and copy of the retiree’s identity card
- Retirement statement obtained from the Social Security Institution website
- A petition indicating the bank where the pension will be paid
- Documents supporting military service credit claims
- Documents showing the start of civil service or insured employment
- Insurance information documents obtained from e-Devlet
- A notice of termination from the most recent employer
- Retirement allocation request and declaration form
- General documents related to maternity credit and overseas service credit
After collecting these documents, applicants should submit them to the Social Security Institution. SGK may request additional documents if needed. Individuals who have not reached the required age or who have not completed the necessary contribution payments are not eligible for retirement.
How to Check Retirement Eligibility?
To determine whether an insured person is eligible for retirement, SGK’s online retirement inquiry tool on the official SGK website is used. The SGK retirement inquiry can be accessed via the SGK website. The retirement inquiry process on the official site includes the following steps:
- Open the SGK retirement inquiry page using the relevant SGK link.
- Complete the form with personal identity and insurance information required for the pension calculation.
The retirement inquiry form requests the following information:
- Gender
- Disability status
- Date of birth
- Early aging status (if applicable)
- Service start date
- Number of SSK contribution days
- Number of days in other funds
- Military/artist service days
- Actual work days
- Days worked abroad
- Date when 3,600 days were completed (if applicable)
After filling in the required information, click the “Send” button to start the retirement eligibility check.
How to Check Pension Amount?
Pension amount inquiries are conducted through the e-Devlet system, which connects to the Social Security Institution’s official services.
Steps to check pension amounts via e-Devlet are detailed below:
- Use the turkiye.gov.tr portal to access e-Devlet services for pension queries.
- On the e-Devlet homepage, click the “Giriş Yap” (Log In) section.
- Authenticate with your T.C. identity number and e-Devlet password, then click “Giriş” (Enter).
- From the e-Devlet main page, open “E-Hizmetler” (E-Services), then select “Kurumlar” (Institutions) and choose “Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu”.
- On the SGK page within e-Devlet, you can view the current pension amount under the retirement section.
Those who are not yet retired can obtain estimated figures on the inquiry screen. Amounts shown on e-Devlet for future pensions are approximate estimates.
Details of the Retirement Application Process
Applicants should prepare the required documents and visit the Social Security Institution to apply for retirement. Once documents are submitted and found complete, the retirement process will proceed. Steps to follow for an SGK retirement application include:
- Bring the original T.C. identity card and a copy, along with the other required documents, and visit the SGK office serving your place of residence.
- At the provincial or district SGK office, complete the retirement allocation request and declaration form.
- After submitting the declaration, SGK staff will process the retirement application.
- Once the application is entered into the system, SGK will assess whether the applicant meets retirement conditions.
- Approved applicants begin receiving the pension starting from the month the application is approved.
SGK’s review of retirement applications typically takes around two weeks, and in some cases may extend up to 21 days depending on the situation.
What to Do If a Pension Is Deducted
If a deduction appears on a pension, the first step is to identify the reason. If the pension is withdrawn from a bank ATM, the ATM may not provide the deduction details. Therefore, the retiree should contact the Social Security Provincial Directorate or log in to e-Devlet to find out why the deduction was made.
After discovering the reason, an official application to the relevant institution may be necessary to see full deduction details. e-Devlet provides information on deductions made through the system. If a retiree believes a deduction is incorrect, they have the right to file a written objection.
If SGK’s review finds the deduction unjustified, the incorrectly deducted amount will be refunded in the next pension payment. If SGK upholds the deduction as valid, the objection will be rejected. If the retiree disagrees with the rejection, they can file a lawsuit in labor courts under Law No. 5510.
Points to Watch
One important issue to monitor is abuse in the health system. In some cases, individuals who obtain a retiree’s identity number have prescriptions written for expensive medicines in the retiree’s name and collect them from pharmacies. Even if the retiree did not receive the medicines, the corresponding examination and medication co-payments are deducted from their pension. If an unexpected deduction appears, investigating this possibility is advisable.
If an entire pension payment is suspended rather than a partial deduction, this usually means SGK believes the person no longer meets retirement conditions. Full suspension may occur if the person is still employed as an insured worker, if fraudulent employment is detected, or if there are errors in reported contribution and service periods.
If a pension has been fully suspended, the retiree should apply to SGK to learn the reason. If the retiree believes the suspension is unjustified, they should first submit an objection to SGK and, if the response remains negative, pursue legal action. Court cases can be lengthy and generally require the person to substantiate their current situation. If pension rights are not reinstated, the individual may be entitled to request a refund of paid contribution days.