Bağ-Kur is a form of social security insurance that provides coverage for its insured members in areas such as old-age pensions, survivor benefits, disability and health services. It is designed to enable people who do not have the opportunity to work within private or public sector employment to obtain retirement rights in the future.
The Bağ-Kur system was created to provide essential services like health care and retirement benefits to those who cannot pay premiums through SSK or the Emekli Sandığı. Contributions are generally collected over periods that can span fifteen to twenty-five years. In this article, we explain the process known as Bağ-Kur suspension (Bağ-Kur stop).
If you have paid contributions and reached the predetermined retirement age, you may be eligible to retire under the Bağ-Kur system. In addition, this system allows you to benefit from previously made payments when you qualify in future periods.
Bağ-Kur is administered under the Social Security Institution (SGK) and offers important health-related services. Premiums you pay entitle you to healthcare services and retirement rights. Thanks to the system’s provisions, you may only be responsible for a small percentage of treatment costs—often around twenty percent—so many high-cost medications and medical consultations become available at much lower prices.
By providing these services, Bağ-Kur gives individuals who cannot work in the public or private sectors the opportunity to retire and access healthcare services at modest cost.
It is not possible to make simultaneous contribution payments under SSK, Bağ-Kur and the Emekli Sandığı and receive retirement benefits from all three at once. Below, we describe the Bağ-Kur suspension process in detail.
Bağ-Kur Suspension Process
The Bağ-Kur suspension process, sometimes called Bağ-Kur freezing, applies to self-employed individuals or agricultural workers who owe contributions for twelve months or more. If these outstanding contributions are not paid or restructured within three months, the insured status is suspended. Time periods during which coverage is suspended are not counted toward insured service time and therefore do not contribute to retirement eligibility.
For insured persons who are delinquent for more than twelve months, accounts are frozen as follows: if no premiums were ever paid, the freeze begins at the registration start date; if some payments were made, the freeze begins at the end of the month covered by the last payment. After registration, the account can be reactivated and certain reliefs may be applied to premium debts. This is the Bağ-Kur suspension procedure.
However, not all Bağ-Kur members benefit from recent debt relief laws. Typically eligible groups include artisans, agricultural and farming Bağ-Kur members, and tradespeople who have at least twelve months of debt or more. Even with these measures, the law does not eliminate the principal amount of debt entirely. Rather, it provides an exemption from interest and late payment penalties on outstanding debt. Debts may be settled either in a lump sum or in installments, depending on the options offered by the Social Security Institution.
Individuals who were unable to access services from the Social Security Institution or could not claim retirement despite having paid sufficient premiums—due to past debts—have found resolution through recent Bağ-Kur suspension and restructuring measures. By paying outstanding debts and updating their contribution records, insured persons can have the suspended periods counted toward their retirement eligibility once the process is completed.
Can a Suspended Bağ-Kur Be Reactivated?
Yes. Bağ-Kur members can reactivate their insurance when their financial situation improves by paying outstanding debts. They must apply to the Social Security Institution to request calculation of the debts corresponding to the suspended insurance period. Once the required payments are made or restructured, the previously suspended insurance coverage can be restarted.
Sample Petition for Bağ-Kur Suspension
If you need a sample petition for Bağ-Kur suspension or reactivation, prepare a written request to SGK describing your situation, listing your personal and registration details, the relevant debt periods, and your payment plan preference (lump sum or installments). Submit the petition to your local SGK office or follow the institution’s official submission procedures to initiate review and debt calculation.