Two Pension Raise Formulas Create Buzz in Latest News
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announced that the government has developed solutions to make retirees more comfortable, and these solutions will be implemented soon. This announcement has led to anticipation and speculation about the potential raise for 16 million retirees in January 2024.
The calculations for pension increases are complex, taking into account factors such as root salary, base salary, and welfare share. Economist Muhammet Bayram addressed the different scenarios and explained the potential outcomes in an interview with milliyet.com.tr.
The basic principle for retirees is to receive a raise equal to the inflation difference. However, retired civil servants may also receive the collective agreement difference. In the upcoming period, SSK and Bağkur retirees are expected to receive an inflation difference of around 38 percent.
For retired civil servants, the collective bargaining increase in June was 6 percent, and there will be a 15 percent collective bargaining increase in January 2024. This difference will result in a raise of around 47-48 percent for retired civil servants.
The issue of root salaries is also a matter of concern. Last year, the minimum pension was increased from 3500 TL to 5500 TL, and in April, it was raised to 7500 TL. However, there has been no interim increase for minimum pensions.
Moving forward, the aim is to balance root salaries against main salaries to ensure that proportional increases benefit all retirees. There is also a discussion about fixing root salaries at the level of the lowest pension to optimize the impact of future increases.
Looking ahead, the government is planning a disinflationary process in May 2024, with the focus on increasing wages according to targeted inflation. It is crucial for retirees, civil servants, and other employees in the private sector to receive maximum wage increases to combat inflation effectively.
President Erdoğan has emphasized the importance of avoiding any wage increases below inflation. The economic strategy aims to ensure that all segments of the workforce receive raises above the inflation rate.
The discussion also touches upon the possibility of a gradual increase and what the lowest retirement salary might be. The goal is to provide significant raises for retirees while ensuring fairness and equity across different income levels.
In conclusion, the attention is on the upcoming raise for retirees in January 2024. The government is expected to take measures to ensure that retirees receive significant raises that are in line with targeted inflation and that root salaries are fixed at the level of the lowest pension to maximize the impact of increases.
The future of retirees in Turkey will depend on government policies and the implementation of planned measures to protect their financial security and well-being.
