Where are the benefits?

I concluded last week's article by saying I would provide advice to expats detailing the social security system both at home and in Turkey. According to http://www.allaboutturkey.com /health.htm “The social security system in Turkey comprises three main organizations:”

Social Security Institution (SGK): The SGK -– formerly known as the Social Security Authority (SSK) –- is a social security organization for both private and public sector workers. The SGK members are insured against work injuries and illnesses and given medical care, disability and maternity leave. When the insured person has paid all contributions for a specified period and has reached a specified age, they are entitled to an old age pension. If the insured person dies, the widow, children or parents are paid funeral expenses and can claim the deceased's pension payments.

Emekli Sandığı: Emekli Sandığı is a pension fund for retired civil servants. Government employees only pay 10 percent of their medical expenses, with the rest covered by the government. This fund offers health insurance, a retirement pension, a retirement bonus and a death grant that is payable to the spouse, children or parents.

Bağ-Kur: This insurance covers the self-employed who are not covered by SGK. This group includes craftsmen, artisans, businessmen, technical and professional people –- who are registered with a chamber or professional association -– shareholders of companies other than cooperatives and joint stock companies and those self-employed in agriculture.

Green Card System: This system provides free care to poor people who cannot afford any of the above provisions.

Private Insurance: Private health insurance is well-developed in Turkey. Many people invest in private insurance along with state insurance to receive better quality of services. A foreign national who is covered under the compulsory social security system of his or her home country is not required to pay social security premiums, provided proof of foreign coverage is filed with the local social security office. If the foreign national does not have foreign social security, then s/he needs to pay full contributions and premiums for private insurance.

Many of you probably work in the education sector, especially for private English language schools. If you are working in a state school or university, then SGK is probably being paid for you and perhaps a pension contribution is being made as well. However, language schools are a completely different kettle of (often quite fishy) fish. Payment is generally made in cash -– tax free -– but also unsecured. No payments are made by the employer on your behalf to the SGK, and of course no deductions for social security affect your salary. This system also flies in the face of recent legislation that requires all employees to have a bank account and for their salary -– minus social security contributions and usually tax –- to be paid into that account. The theory behind this system is so the government is able to monitor employers and also able to gather tax in order to resolve the billions of lira lost through uncollected revenue.

While it all seems fine and dandy to receive a comparatively generous tax-free salary, the pitfalls are obvious, especially if you become ill and need serious medical treatment as I discovered to my (literal) cost. It comes down to what is mentioned in point 5 above about entitlement to social security in your home country. For many of us, especially those who are young, the thought of maintaining social security and pension payments while working in such exotic locations as Turkey is far from our minds. Maybe, like me, you made the mistake of assuming that your welfare system would pick you up on return to your homeland, especially if you had been working there before leaving. Benefit entitlements for those who have lived and worked abroad for some time in EU countries are secured by agreements between member states. If you pay Social Security or National Insurance Contributions abroad there is no risk. However, as Turkey is not yet a member of the EU, then such guarantees and safeguards do not apply. In this case you need to maintain your contributions in your native country since payment in Turkey only covers you in Turkey. Detailed information for UK expats is available on the HM Revenue and Customs Web site: www.hmrc.gov.uk. It helps if you know your NI number, as I found when tackling the bureaucracy here. Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders should check their own IRS or equivalent government agencies. If you are unsure, email your embassy or consulate in Istanbul or Ankara for advice and directions.

For those returning to their home countries -– especially to the UK –- the main concern is what is referred to as “Habitual Residence.” This is a test to see how long you have been considered to be “permanently abroad, how much time you have spent home, what family, business or social connections you can verify, and what is the evidence of your serious intention to remain. Obviously, continuous social security contributions eventually comes into the mix, but the intention to reside must be clarified by, for example, having an active bank account, as well as valid membership to local organizations such as libraries, charities, political parties, etc. A permanent residential address would also be a great benefit should you have maintained one during your absence and can prove that you have paid or are paying rent, a mortgage, local council tax and so forth. My dilemma is founded on the above-mentioned test as well as the gap of 12 years in my insurance contributions. Even if my Turkish employer had paid my SGK, it would not be valid here in the UK, since Turkey is a non-EU country. I could have obtained the SGK coverage through my Turkish wife. However, to do so required confirmation from the UK that I was not covered by the British social security system. I got the letter, but soon after I also got a divorce. So stalemate there then.

In conclusion, it is important that you ensure your status in Turkey through your employer and confirm that the SGK payments are being maintained on your behalf. If not, you must then ensure the ways and means of maintaining payments at home which will cover you in Turkey. It is ironic that Turkey has this agreement with foreign countries, and yet it appears not to be reciprocated, at least by the UK at any rate.