As times change, women now participate in the workforce not only as homemakers but as active contributors to the economy. Their involvement in paid employment brings benefits both at home and in the wider labor market. To support this participation, the state offers various measures to help women work more effectively and productively. Greater productivity benefits both the national economy and individual families.
One of the state supports available to working women is the birth payment, also known as birth-related debt repayment. In this article we examine whether female farmers insured under Bağ-Kur (farmer Bağ-Kur members) are eligible to make birth payments.
What Is the Birth Payment?
First it is useful to define birth-related debt repayment. After childbirth, working women often need to take time away from formal work to care for their child or children. Birth debt repayment allows insured women to account for the period after childbirth during which they were unable to work by making a contribution to the state social security system for that time.
Recent reforms have extended birth-debt repayment rights to Bağ-Kur members, including those registered as farmers. Farmer Bağ-Kur women have the same right to birth-debt repayment as other Bağ-Kur members.
It should be noted that Bağ-Kur does not pay benefits for ordinary sickness periods. However, insured women are entitled to birth payment from the designated institutions at the time of delivery. This entitlement does not apply to women who are company partners. Additionally, a Bağ-Kur member who has no outstanding premium debt and who suffers a work accident or occupational disease may benefit from related payments.
Conditions for Farmer Bağ-Kur Women to Make a Birth Payment
Certain conditions must be met to qualify for birth-debt repayment. The main requirements are:
- The birth must have occurred while the woman was registered under one of the following insurance schemes: SSK, agricultural SSK, Bağ-Kur, agricultural Bağ-Kur, Pension Fund (Emekli Sandığı), optional insurance, or private insurance.
- No work must have been performed and no premiums paid during the two-year period following the birth. If part of that period was worked, only the non-worked days are eligible for repayment.
- The child must be born alive and living. If the child dies within two years of birth, the living days may still be covered through repayment.
- Repayment can be made for up to three children.
Farmer Bağ-Kur women can submit applications for birth repayment at the Social Security Centers where their Bağ-Kur files are held. The basic documents required to apply are:
- A written request for debt repayment (borçlanma talep dilekçesi).
- A copy of the applicant’s identity card.
Another important point for farmer Bağ-Kur women is whether birth-debt repayment extends the Bağ-Kur registration start date backward. The birth repayment does not change the insurance start date; it only affects the total number of premium days. A farmer Bağ-Kur woman may repay up to 720 days for one child, and up to 2,160 days in total for three children. When other retirement conditions are met, this increased credited period can help eligible women retire earlier.
The daily payment amount for birth repayment among farmer Bağ-Kur members is calculated as 32% of the one-day gross amount of the minimum wage. The resulting daily rate is multiplied by the total number of days to be repaid, producing the total amount the farmer Bağ-Kur woman must pay.
There are special cases to consider. For instance, if a woman who has made a birth payment gives birth again before the two-year period for the first birth has elapsed, the repayment calculation may change. The insured woman can repay the period from the first birth until the second birth, combined with the eligible repayment period for the second child, and make a single payment covering both periods. If a child for whom a birth repayment was made later dies, the mother can still repay only the days the child lived.