Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted the retirement age requirement for workers on Wednesday. This allows over 2 million people to take their pensions immediately and less than 6 months prior to an election.
The president made the announcement during Wednesday’s news conference about popular policy.
Erdogan’s ruling AK Party offered a substantial increase to the minimum wage as part of a campaign for support that was eroded due to inflation, a drop in the lira, and a drastic fall in living standards.
People who began working prior to September 1999 when the law regarding retirement changed will be able to benefit from this new arrangement. They also have 20-25 years of social security-registered working experience.
The retirement age for men and women was previously set at 60 for both genders. Although it was unclear how much the system would cost to implement, Erdogan stated that 2.25 million individuals were eligible for retirement immediately. Turkey currently has 13.9 million retired people.
For several years labor groups have been protesting minimum age requirements. They are now asking for workers to only be required to work the prescribed number of days before they can retire. Erdogan is expected to benefit from this move before the crucial June election.
Erdogan, who has been in power for over two decades, has imposed a clampdown on dissidents and adopted unconventional economic policies in recent years that have helped bring the lira to one-tenth its dollar value a decade earlier.
