The Umut Party was founded to address the hardships faced by hundreds of thousands known as “emeklilikte yaşa takılanlar”—people who have completed the required contribution days for retirement but cannot retire because they have not met the age requirement. The party’s primary purpose is to defend the rights of those disadvantaged in the retirement system and to eliminate their grievances.
The Party for Those Held Back by Retirement Age Rules
As the number of affected people has grown recently, those who have lost their retirement rights—often referred to as EYT—applied to the Ministry of Interior to establish a new political party named Umut Party to remedy their situation. The party’s current leader, Abdülkadir Bozkurt, addressed those who suffered retirement-related injustices following the party’s founding.
Bozkurt described the party’s origins: “We began political work two years ago primarily to be the voice of EYT members. After meetings with friends and supporters, on April 14, 2020, we founded the Umut Party with loyal companions. We set out to be the voice of all oppressed people. Given that there are approximately six million EYT members in the country, our priority is to address their problems and keep the issue on Turkey’s agenda. But the Umut Party will always stand with the oppressed and the wronged.” He emphasized that the party is not driven by ideology but by the pursuit of rights.
Resolving the Retirees’ Hardship
Continuing on the issue of retirees harmed by the age requirement, Bozkurt said: “After starting with those affected by the retirement age rule, we discovered many related problems. First, we noticed young people worried about their future. We saw that retirees cannot maintain a comfortable life after retirement. We identified shortcomings in workers’ and civil servants’ employment rights while working. We observed farmers’ concerns about declining production. As a party, the pillars we must focus on today are justice, production, and heavy industry. This is crucial. Our country has come to rely heavily on imports. Why do we not produce more? If mayors in provinces promoted agriculture, opened cultivation areas, and produced enough fruits and vegetables to meet local needs, and if they supported all kinds of animal husbandry, it would help significantly.”
Those Held Back by Retirement Age Expect a Solution
With the party’s establishment, it appears the group will seek political remedies for the rights of those blocked by retirement-age regulations; however, it remains unclear how much public support the party will attract. Nearly six million people in Turkey are currently affected—individuals who have met their contribution-day requirements but are waiting to meet the age threshold for retirement.
The solution is complex. One central issue is that many who qualify by contribution days also wish to continue working after formally retiring. Many within the EYT group are still relatively young upon retirement and prefer to remain in the workforce. The government, however, argues that allowing both pension payments and continued earnings could create unjust enrichment.
Therefore, proposals under discussion generally favor lowering the retirement age threshold for these individuals to earlier—but not excessively young—ages, rather than allowing immediate early retirement without adjustment. Although studies and proposals for EYT members have been discussed for years, no concrete result has yet emerged. Recent work has examined international models, but experts believe a comprehensive solution is unlikely to be implemented within 2020. For a viable resolution, the government, markets, and prospective retirees must reach an agreement acceptable to all parties; most experts consider such a consensus difficult and expect any practical solution to unfold over many years.