Retirement may include special allowances for certain professions in the form of compensation for wear and tear. This compensation, tied to job duties, allows some workers to qualify for retirement earlier. The conditions for receiving such allowance, however, vary depending on the specific job description.
What Is Wear-and-Tear Allowance?
Wear-and-tear allowance originally applied to insured workers employed in occupations defined as heavy or degrading under laws predating March 1, 1965, and was recognized within earlier statutes (laws numbered 5417 and 6900). Later it was expressed as an honorary service period under Law No. 506. With subsequent legal reforms, it was incorporated into the Social Security Law No. 5510, effective October 1, 2008, as an increase in actual service time.
In practice, for civil servants the allowance appears as an increase in actual service period and honorary service period under Law No. 5434 governing the Pension Fund. However, because the public commonly refers to the application as “wear-and-tear allowance,” the term remains in frequent use. Under current regulations, this allowance applies only to 4A (SSK) insured workers and 4C (Pension Fund) insured civil servants. It does not apply to 4B (self-employed/Bag-Kur) insured persons.
Effect of Wear-and-Tear Allowance on Retirement
Historically described as honorary service, the current legislation refers to this benefit as an increase in actual service time. Workers who held positions classified in the law as heavy or degrading may receive additional credited service for each year worked in those roles, according to the statutory schedule. Those insured under these provisions may also receive a reduction in their required retirement age in line with the law’s specified amounts.
The occupations and job definitions that qualify for the actual service time increase have been listed in the legislation since October 1, 2008. Under the regulation, a specified number of days from the official table are added to the worker’s service time. The additional credited period cannot exceed three years in total. Members of legislative bodies and externally appointed ministers are treated differently in the table: they receive the full amount, while for other eligible groups half of the credited period is applied toward lowering the retirement age used to determine old-age pensions. Notably, workers listed under item 10 in the table, such as underground mine workers, receive the full credited service and are exempt from the age requirement reductions in the same manner.
To benefit from the retirement-age reduction (with exceptions for death, disability, and for members of legislative bodies and externally appointed ministers), insured workers must have worked in the specified workplaces and jobs for a minimum period: at least 1,800 days for some categories and 3,600 days for others, as set out in the law. For example, if a person earns two years of credited service and the standard retirement age they must reach is 52, half of the credited period may be deducted from that age requirement, allowing retirement at 51.
How Is the Wear-and-Tear Allowance Applied?
Employees do not need to take separate action to use the wear-and-tear allowance. Employers report insured workers’ monthly premium declarations to the Social Security Institution (SGK). Where the job and workplace fall within the application’s scope, SGK applies the appropriate credits based on the job description. When retirement conditions are met, SGK calculates and deducts the credited periods from the retirement age requirement as part of the standard processing.