February 27 is the Last Day for Enrollment of Automatic Individual Retirement System

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance has published 2019/2 numbered and 16.01.2019 dated “Sector Announcement on the Enrolment of the Employees to Mandatory Pension System by the Employers”. According to this announcement;

The Employers who have not registered their employees to the system by 27.12.2018, shall enrol their employees until 27.02.2019. Thus, the employers who have performed this obligation by the deadline, shall not be subjected to any penalties. There will also be no deduction implied to the salary of the employees under this scope.

Determining the employee numbers: Monthly Premium and total insured number in the SSI premium list for private sector employers; the number of employees to be worked in workplace declaration declared to the institution for private sector employers who newly commenced their business, shall be considered.

Assessment of the age of 45: It should be examined that whether employees need to be included into the system before 27.12.2018 turn 45 on 01.01.2017 or not; and whether employees need to be included into the system after 27.12.2018 turn 45 on 01.01.2017 or not.The age assessment of employees of the funds established under Temporary Art. 20 of 506 numbered Law, will be the same.

For example; if an employee starts working on 12.06.2020 and the first salary payment is on 12.07.2020, then one should examine that whether this employee turns 45 on 01.01.2020.

If there are certain employees who are registered to the system, even they should not, the certificates of these employees shall be ended. The burden of proof about the notifying the retirement company that has employee’s certificate and necessity to include the employee into the system, is on the employer.

Registration to the System: If the number of employees to be employed and mentioned in the workplace declaration for the workplace commence business after 01.01.2019, are 5 and more and if the number of insured employees are 5 or more after 01.01.2019, the employees should be included to the system in the first salary payment of the next calendar year at the latest.

The employees who opt-out from the system with using right of withdrawal, can only be included in the system for once within 3 years as of the withdrawal date. There is no other transaction to be done for the employers regarding this issue. If deemed necessary, the Ministry shall make another related regulation about the issue.

Administrative Fine: The employers haven’t fulfilled their liabilities of registering their employees to the system, where they should have been, will be subject to an administrative fine executed by the Turkish Ministry of Family Labor and Social Services for each month and each employee they have not registered. Within the scope of the announcement, there will not be an administrative fine implemented for the employers who fulfill their liabilities until 27/02/2019.