Turkey abolishes minimum retirement age
Before next year’s elections, the Turkish government will decide on the minimum age for retirement.
(Photo: IMAGO/APAimages)
Ankara the Turkey has abolished the minimum retirement age, giving more than two million citizens the opportunity to retire immediately. president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the move on Wednesday, less than six months before a much-anticipated election.
It was initially unclear what additional costs would arise for the state. So far, the minimum age in Turkey was 60 for men and 58 for women. Workers’ organizations had long resisted a minimum age, demanding that the only condition should be a minimum number of days worked. This requirement remains in place.
The decision comes as part of other reforms ahead of the general and presidential elections in June. Erdogan’s ruling party AK significantly increased the minimum wage last week. It should rise to 8,500 lira (around 429 euros) per month from next year.
According to government information at the time, this is an increase of a good 50 percent on July and 94 percent on January 2022. Turkey is facing high inflation, a weak local currency, the lira, and a decline in living standards. Erdogan’s government and the central bank, with a sometimes unorthodox financial and economic policy responded, particularly when it came to interest rates.
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There are currently 13.9 million pensioners in Turkey. According to Erdogan, an additional 2.25 million could be added immediately under the new rules. Almost 85 million people live in Turkey, roughly as many as in Germany. There, business associations are pushing for an abolition of early retirement at 63. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also recently declared that he wanted more people to retire at 67 instead of earlier.
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