With the latest restructuring approved by the parliament, two different options will be available for Bağkur members who have premium debt to the Social Security Institution (SGK). Under this arrangement, Bağkur members will either pay their outstanding premiums in cash, apply for restructuring, or have their insured periods suspended.
How Will Bağkur Premium Debts Be Restructured?
The bill submitted to the parliament provides two alternative options for Bağkur members who owe premiums to the Social Security Institution. According to the proposal, Bağkur members will either pay their premium debts or have their insurance periods suspended. Periods that are suspended will not be counted toward retirement. Within the employment package on the agenda of the Grand National Assembly, amendments added to the Plan and Budget Committee concerning debt restructuring include a separate provision for Bağkur premium debts. This provision aims to eliminate accumulated Bağkur debts.
Previous regulations applied similar measures for debts unpaid for certain minimum periods—one reform targeted debts unpaid for at least five years, another targeted debts unpaid for at least 12 months. The new regulation takes October 31, 2020 as the reference date and covers all premium debts up to that date. For tradespeople and agricultural Bağkur members, a two-month window will be granted to pay debts arising before October 31, 2020. That two-month period will begin on the date the law is published in the Official Gazette. Those who cannot pay their debt in full within the two months may apply for restructuring under the law.
Paid Premium Periods Will Be Accepted
If a premium debt is not paid and is not included in the restructuring, Bağkur members’ insurance periods for which premiums were not paid will be suspended. Any periods for which premiums were paid previously will be considered valid. Bağkur members should pay close attention to this point because it directly affects retirement eligibility and calculation. For example, if a person registered under 4B has not paid insurance premiums since January 1, 2019, the insurance period after that date will not count toward retirement; those years will be treated as if the person had not worked for retirement calculation purposes.
Individuals who fall under 4B but have never paid premiums will have all their insurance periods frozen. If those whose insurance periods are suspended continue to work as tradespeople, their insurance periods will be restarted as of November 1, 2020.
Suspended Periods Can Be Revived
The SGK premium debt restructuring offers an important convenience to those who want to restore suspended insurance periods. If the insured person or, in case of death, their beneficiaries request it, the entire insured period can be revived by paying the required Bağkur premiums. However, revival requires payment of premiums for all suspended periods. Premium amounts will be calculated based on the minimum wage at the time of payment and may be paid at a rate up to 7.5 times that minimum wage, according to the option chosen by the individual.
After an application to SGK to revive periods, the payable premium amounts will be calculated and notified to the applicant. If the notified amounts are paid within three months, the suspended periods will be restored to insurance status and will be included in retirement calculations. If the notified debt is not paid in full within three months, those periods will not be accepted as insured time and any amounts already paid will be refunded without interest. Revived service periods will be considered valid from the date the debt is paid. For those whose insurance has been suspended, general health insurance provisions that have been in effect since 2012 will not apply to the dependents for whom they are responsible unless revival and payment conditions are met.