15 percent increase for retirees, civil servants on the way

There are only a few days left for the announcement of the retirement and the increase in the rates of civil servants promised by President Tayyip Erdoğan in the polling places. The Turkish Statistical Institute of Turkey (TUIK) first 5-month consumer inflation largely revealed the inflation difference of millions of retirees and civil servants and the 6-month rate of increase. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 15.26 percent in the first 5 months. In the event that the CPI is realized as 1 or 2 percent in June and no additional social participation is granted, an increase from 14.25 to 15.38 percent for civil servants and public employees, and from 16.41 to 17 .56 percent for other retirees. At the beginning of the year, public employees and retired civil servants increased by a total of 30 percent, including an 8 percent increase in collective bargaining, 8.48 inflation difference points, and 13.52 social participation points. The increase of former retirees from SSK and Bağ-Kur was also 30 percent with 14.6 social participation points. In addition to the 6 percent increase in collective bargaining for civil servants and retirees in July, an increase of 14.25 percent, including the 7.79 percent inflation difference, if June inflation rises to 1 percent; If it is 2 percent, there will be a total increase of 15.38 percent, including the inflation difference of 8.85 percent. In this case, the lowest civil servant pension will increase from 7,782 liras to a maximum of 9,014 liras.

COULD INCREASE TO 20 PERCENT

Since the former retirees of SSK and Bağ-Kur will receive an increase equal to the 6-month inflation rate, if the June CPI increases by 1 or 2 percent, the rate of increase will be from 16.41 to 17, 56 percent. If no further increase is made, the lowest pension, which remains 7,500 lira, will see a maximum of 8,817 lira. If the good news of free natural gas given before the elections had not been reflected in inflation as zero and the CPI had not been lowered, the 6-month rates of increase would have been around 20 percent.

Eyes on the promised share of prosperity

Before the elections, President Tayyip Erdoğan had promised to increase the minimum wage for civil servants to 22,000 lira in July and increase their pensions at these rates. If this promise is fulfilled in July, a social participation will come into play, well above the increase in inflation of the first 6 months. In this context, to increase the lowest salary of civil servants to 22,000 TL, an increase of around 75 percent is required, including the increase in the collective agreement and the inflation difference. This social participation, which reaches 60 percent, is expected to apply to all retirees in the same way.