ASSESSING PUBLIC POLICIES FOR RETIREES IN TURKEY IN THE CONTEXT OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE

One of the most important indicators of demographic change worldwide is population aging. Increasing old age affects social security systems financially and institutionally. As the number of elderly people increases, the number of retirees rises, the revenues of social security institutions decrease, pension payments and health expenditures increase due to longer life expectancy and the contributions made from the government budget to the social security system reach increasingly higher levels. Demographic change continuously necessitates reforms in pension systems. In the reforms, retirement age and the number of contribution days are increased, pension accrual rates are reduced, and supplementary pension systems are brought to the agenda. The rapid rise in the elderly and retiree population causes a deterioration in the actuarial balance of the social security system. Similar to the global trend, the population in Turkey is rapidly aging, and the share of those aged 65 and over in the total population is expected to rise from 10.7% in 2025 to 27% in 2060 and 33.6% in 2100. While the number of retirees was 9 million 174 thousand in 2009, this number increased to 16 million 936 thousand in August 2025. The rapid aging of the population in Turkey brings forward new policy needs in terms of protecting the quality of life of elderly individuals as well as the sustainability of the social security system. The increasing share of the population aged 65 and over raises the number of retirees and the extension of the retirement period due to longer life expectancy makes new support mechanisms necessary both economically and socially. In our country, retirees are offered various exemptions and exceptions in tax laws, in addition to their salaries and other supports such as discounted transportation services and free accommodation in student dormitories are provided. In this study, the effects of the aging population on the retirement system in Turkey were discussed and the tax and other expenditure policies applied to retirees depending on the increasing number of retirees were analyzed.