Many people in our country work under Bağ-Kur (4/b). These insured individuals pay contributions both to qualify for retirement and to benefit from state-supported discounted services. There are several retirement schemes within Bağ-Kur. One of these is retirement by age limit (retirement based on reaching a certain age).
To retire by age limit under Bağ-Kur, an insured person must have completed 15 years (180 months) of contribution payments. The age at which Bağ-Kur members can retire is calculated based on the start date of their insurance period. The age requirements for women have been eased compared to men. Accordingly, the retirement ages for female Bağ-Kur members are determined according to how much time remained until they completed 15 years of contributions as of October 1, 1999.
Accordingly, a female Bağ-Kur member whose remaining time to complete 15 years of contributions was two years or less as of October 1, 1999 can retire at age 50 once her contributions are completed. If the remaining time was more than two years but less than four years, she can retire at age 51 after completing contributions. If it was more than four years but less than six years, the retirement age is 52. If between more than six years and less than eight years remained, her retirement age is 53. If the remaining period was more than eight years but less than or equal to ten years, she can retire at age 54 after completing contributions. If the remaining time exceeded ten years, the retirement age is 56.
As noted above, the first requirement for retirement by age limit under Bağ-Kur for women is completion of 15 years of contributions, followed by meeting the relevant age requirement. The ages for men are higher than for women. Accordingly, male Bağ-Kur members who had two years or less remaining to complete 15 years of contributions as of October 1, 1999 can retire at age 55 once their contributions are completed. If the remaining period was more than two years but less than six years, the retirement age is 56. If between six and ten years remained, the retirement age is 57. If more than ten years remained to reach 15 years of contributions, male Bağ-Kur members can retire at age 58 after completing their contributions.
Retirement by age limit under Bağ-Kur is determined based on the 15-year contribution rule as described. There is also retirement based on days of contributions (e.g., 5,400 days). Male Bağ-Kur members who had more than 23 years of insured service as of January 1, 1999 and who reach 9,000 days of contributions become eligible for retirement regardless of age. For those who do not meet that condition, retirement based on 5,400 days of contributions applies.
The state also set retirement ages for male Bağ-Kur members based on remaining time to complete 25 years of contributions as of June 1, 2002. The following list shows the retirement ages for men according to how much time remained until they completed 25 years of contributions:
- 2 years or less remaining: 44
- More than 2 years – up to 3 years 6 months: 45
- More than 3 years 6 months – up to 5 years: 46
- More than 5 years – up to 6 years 6 months: 47
- More than 6 years 6 months – up to 8 years: 48
- More than 8 years – up to 9 years 6 months: 49
- More than 9 years 6 months – up to 11 years: 50
- More than 11 years – up to 12 years 6 months: 51
- More than 12 years 6 months – up to 14 years: 52
- More than 14 years – up to 15 years 6 months: 53
- More than 15 years 6 months – up to 17 years: 54
- More than 17 years – up to 18 years 6 months: 55
- More than 18 years 6 months – up to 20 years: 56
- More than 20 years – up to 21 years: 57
- More than 21 years – up to 22 years: 58
- More than 22 years remaining: 60
For women, the age requirements for retirement based on 5,400 days of contributions have been reduced further. Female Bağ-Kur members who had more than 18 years of insured service as of January 1, 1999 can retire regardless of age when they meet the contribution threshold. For those who do not meet that condition, retirement ages are set according to the remaining time to complete 25 years of contributions as follows:
- 2 years or less remaining: 40
- More than 2 years – up to 3 years: 41
- More than 3 years – up to 4 years: 42
- More than 4 years – up to 5 years: 43
- More than 5 years – up to 6 years: 44
- More than 6 years – up to 7 years: 45
- More than 7 years – up to 8 years: 46
- More than 8 years – up to 9 years: 47
- More than 9 years – up to 10 years: 48
- More than 10 years – up to 11 years: 49
- More than 11 years – up to 12 years: 50
- More than 12 years – up to 13 years: 51
- More than 13 years – up to 14 years: 52
- More than 14 years – up to 15 years: 53
- More than 15 years – up to 16 years: 54
- More than 16 years – up to 17 years: 55
- More than 17 years remaining: 58
These rules determine the retirement ages under Bağ-Kur based on contribution days and the remaining time to complete the required contribution periods. Individuals planning retirement should verify their exact contribution records and applicable dates to determine their eligibility and the precise retirement age that applies to their situation.