Turkish pension for years spent abroad (Yurtdışı Borçlanma): the guide for Turks overseas

Decades of work in Germany, the Netherlands or elsewhere — and still draw a Turkish old-age pension? That is the heart of paying in for time spent abroad (yurtdışı borçlanma): periods of employment, certain non-working periods and time as a homemaker spent overseas are bought into the Turkish social-security system against payment of a contribution. Planned correctly, this leads to a pension from Türkiye — and the whole procedure can be handled from abroad under a power of attorney.

Who can pay in?

• Turkish citizens — and expressly Mavi Kart holders (Turks by birth who left citizenship with permission),
• for insurance periods completed abroad, certain periods without employment, and homemaker periods,
• on one condition: proof. Your foreign social-security record, employment certificates and residence records.

What does it cost?

The buy-in amount is set by the daily earnings base you choose: from the floor to the ceiling, the decision is yours. This is exactly where the strategy sits — how many months, and at what level you pay in determines both your payment and the size of the later pension. Paying in for everything is rarely optimal; the goal is the cheapest combination that still meets the pension conditions.

The process in five steps

1. Prove the periods abroad (your insurance record and, where needed, certified translations),
2. apply to the Turkish SGK,
3. pay the assessed amount within the deadline,
4. once age and contribution conditions are met: file the pension claim (tahsis),
5. payment into your account.

The most common mistake is to think about the buy-in only a year or two before you want to retire. The law and the calculation figures change — early planning means the same pension for less money.

What to watch for

• The residence question: whether, and on what conditions, a Turkish old-age pension is paid while you live abroad depends on the pension type and your status — this belongs at the start of planning, not the end.
• Social-security agreements: Türkiye has agreements with many countries; in certain constellations periods can complement one another. Whether a foreign and a Turkish pension can run side by side we check against your actual record.
• Tax and health cover: how the Turkish pension is taxed in your country of residence, and the effect on your health insurance, must be assessed separately — speak to your tax adviser in parallel.

Our role

From gathering the documents through the application to the pension approval, we run the procedure under a power of attorney; in the planning phase we work through with you which periods should be paid in, and at what level. The first step is simple: send us your insurance record on WhatsApp — you receive an overview with options.