A second retirement alongside SGK: Is it possible to receive two pensions?

Turkey’s Individual Pension System, known as BES, offers workers a way to build a second retirement income alongside the pension they may eventually receive from the Social Security Institution, or SGK. Eligible participants can receive their savings as a lump sum or as regular payments.

Retirement conditions under SGK depend on when a person first entered the insurance system. For employees covered by SSK who joined between 1999 and 2008, the requirement is 7,000 contribution days, with retirement ages of 58 for women and 60 for men. For those who entered after 2008, the required contribution period rises to 7,200 days, while the retirement age for men can reach 61. Bağ-Kur participants generally need 9,000 contribution days, regardless of gender.

BES provides a separate route. Participants must remain in the system for at least 10 years and reach the age of 56 to qualify for retirement. A man who entered SGK in 2000, for example, would face the SGK requirement of 7,000 contribution days and age 60. If he also joined BES during that period, he could qualify for BES retirement after completing 10 years in the system and reaching 56, even if he still had to wait to meet his SGK conditions.

The contribution amount in BES is set by the participant and can be increased later. State contributions are added to the payments, increasing the total retirement savings. BES and the Automatic Enrollment System, or OKS, are also open to people outside active employment. Under OKS, at least 3% of an employee’s salary is deducted each month, although employees can leave the system.

People already retired through SGK can also join BES and build additional savings. Continuing to work after retirement does not create a new SGK pension through further SGK contributions, but BES savings can provide a separate retirement income. A planned Supplementary Pension System, or TES, is expected to add employer contributions to a similar arrangement.