Frequently Asked Questions

The Auto-Enrollment implementation subject to gradual transition by taking into consideration the number of employees of the workplace of the employees entered into force on 01.01.2017

Coverage Dates for Public Administrations and Private Sector Employees:

• The Turkish citizens or persons having the blue card
• The persons who have not completed the age of 45
• Public sector employees (4c)
• Private sector employees (4a) (will be included taking into account the number of employees at work identified by the Council of Ministers' Decision)
• Employees covered by 4b are not included in the system.

Every employer involved in the Auto-Enrollment system is obliged to contract with a pension company on behalf of its employees and to include employees who meet the criteria in the legislation.

To allow their employees to be included in the system, the employer shall report all necessary information to the pension company and forward this monthly data to the pension company. The employer shall deduct from the salaries of the employees a minimum 3% of premium based earnings or monthly pension deduction based payment and this amount shall be transferred to the pension company no later than the following business day after the date of the employee's salary paid.

The business day following the date on which the first contribution payment deducted from the employee contribution is transferred to the pension company's account in cash, it will be reported to the employee by the pension company that the employee has been included in the automatic participation. The employee will be entitled to withdraw (exit) within 2 months following the date of this notification. In this case, contributions paid by the employee until that date, if any, will be returned to the employee's investment income. If the employee desires to leave the system after the end of the withdrawal term, the leaving rules in the private pension system will be effective. Please click for detailed information regarding the exit rules comprised in the Private Pension System which are determined by the Undersecretariat of Treasury.

If an employee exits from the system he/she cannot reenter the system at his own request.

However, employees who continue to work in the same workplace and meet the conditions will be included in the system again under the procedures determined by the Undersecretariat.

• Employees who are separated from the Auto-Enrollment pension plan and affiliated to a workplace are automatically reincluded into the system by their employer, provided they are still working for the company and have not completed the age of 45 years.
• The Pension Monitoring Center (PMC) identifies those who have left the retirement plan of a workplace in the previous calendar year and still continue to work in the same workplace and who will not complete the age of forty-five by the end of the following April and reports to the pension company within one month. The pension company informs the relevant employers of their employees identified until the end of the month following the PMC notification, so that they can be reincluded into the system. Employers include their employees in the system until the end of the second month following the notification.

Employee contribution shall be the amount corresponding to minimum 3% of the premium based earnings or monthly pension deduction based payment. Employees should inform their employer if they wish to pay higher than this amount.

• State Subsidy provided at the rate of 25% of the employee contribution
• If they prefer to stay in the system at the end of the 2 month withdrawal term, the initial State Subsidy at amount of 1,000 TL.
• Additional State Subsidy up to 5% of the saving od the employees who prefer to receive their savings in the retirement period as 10 year annual income insurance

The Initial State Subsidy is calculated automatically in the month following the end of the withdrawal term, for only once during the entry into the system as part of automatic participation. The initial State Subsidy of an employee who has more than one contract with withdrawal term expired is calculated by taking into account the weight of contributions paid per contract in the month that withdrawal term ended, and is shared among the employee's contracts. In the event of a cancellation any of these contracts, promised initial State Subsidy for this contract is distributed to the remaining contracts. If there is more than one contract to be distributed, the weight of the contributions paid per contract in the month in which the initial distribution and the end of the withdrawal term will constitute the basis.

If the employee who has left the system cancelling all contracts is included in the system again, the initial State Subsidy will not be recalculated.

The upper limit of State Subsidy in the contracts within the scope of Auto-Enrollment shall be calculated separately from the State Subsidy limit of Private Pension System contracts.

State Subsidy incentive at 25% and 1,000 TL initial State Subsidy incentive have same vesting period which is announced on the table below. (Same as the periods and rates in the PPS system).

While they are included in the system, no entrance fee shall be collected from the employees and in the case where the employees exit from the system, the deferred entrance fee/amount shall not be collected from them. As long as they are participated in the system, no deduction is made by pension companies other than the Fund Operation Expenses Fee (FOEF) in terms of the savings of the employees in the pension account. The maximum annual fund operation expenses fee rate (FOEF) is applied as 0.85% for all funds offered to employees who are included in the private pension system through their employers under automatic participation. In accordance with the legislation, the Fund Total Fee (FTF), including the FOEF, in pension mutual funds offered under Auto-Enrollment can not exceed maximum 1.09% per year.

When they first participate in the system, making a fund selection between the interest bearing or interest-free funds shall be requested from the employees. In the case where the employee does not make a fund selection, the fund notified by the employer shall be valid. In this context, the contributions are firstly directed to “Initial Funds" stated in the plan in accordance with the preference made. Provided that the result of the survey shall not be binding, the risk profile survey shall be submitted to the employees who prefers to exit the system subsequent to completion of the establishment of the Fund. Contributions and saving are directed to investment through funds / fund groups at different risk profiles presented in the preference of participant. The savings of the employees who have completed his/her first year and whose funds preferences are not stated in their Auto-Enrollment certificates, shall be invested in the standard fund pursuant to the same preference in the case where no changes arise in terms of their fund preferences with regard to the “interest bearing” and “interest-free” funds at the outset.

No. This choice must be executed by their employers on behalf of them. Employers may make a contract with a pension company approved by the Undersecretary of the Treasury on behalf of their employees.

The employee will have an Auto-Enrollment contract with each employer who is included in automatic participation.

In the case of separation from the employee's work, he/she will execute all his/her transactions directly with the pension company.

Savings of an employee in his/her private pension account who has an Auto-Enrollment contract as of his/her job change date and his/her paid State Subsidy amount if available can be transferred to the plan which is available in the new workplace in accordance with his/her request if a group pension plan which is presented to the employees in the new workplace is available. The period which constitutes the basis in terms of the pension and State Subsidy entitlement of the employee within the context of the system shall exactly be maintained in the plan within the new workplace.

When the employee changes his/her job, if his/her new employer does not have a pension plan for Auto-Enrollment or if the working relationship of the person has ended, he/she can continue the existing pension plan. In this case, he/she makes the payments himself/herself (through credit card, bank account etc.) to the pension company with which Auto-Enrollment contract is executed.

In the case where the employee requests to continue to pay the contribution, he/she can suspend the payment for maximum 3 months or execute an exit transaction. The employee is obliged to notify to the pension company of his request to discontinue to pay contribution, of workplace change/leaving work until the end of the following month in written or via any types of electronic communication. In the case where the relevant request is not communicated, the employee shall make a notification in writing or by means of the electronic communication instruments regarding that he/she will execute the exit transactions with respect to the contract.

If the employer changes his/her workplace and in the new workplace there is not any pension plan provided or the employment of the person is terminated, in the scope of the pension plan he was included in his previous workplace he/she can stay in the system by paying a contribution share at 3% of the minimum monthly gross salary applied in the first six months of the relevant calendar year.

Yes, all employees who are comprised within the scope of the Auto-Enrollment system shall be included in the system even if they have existing private pension contracts.

No, new contract will be commenced with automatic participation. Existing PPS contracts will continue separately.

The periods which constitute the basis for the pension and State Subsidy and other rights and obligations under Auto-Enrollment can not be consolidated with the PPS contracts within the scope of automatic participation.

Employees who have at least 10 years in the Auto-Enrollment system and who complete 56 years of age qualify for the pension.

Employees who leave the system using the right of pension benefit from the following incentives:

1. State Subsidy at 25% regularly paid to their account
2. 1,000 TL State Subsidy during the entrance to the system
3. In case of using the pension right, the additional State Subsidy at the amount of 5% of the saving given to the employee who prefers to have the savings in his/her pension account under the annual income insurance contract for at least ten years

Employees can receive their savings by means of 3 methods:

1. Lump Sum
2. Scheduled Back Payment: They shall receive pension at an amount determined by their own discretion and the payments shall continue until their savings are consumed.
3. Annual Annuity Insurance*: The employee shall receive it in the form of a life-long pension.

*Employees using this preference can benefit from additional State Subsidy incentives up to 5% of their savings.