Maternity service borrowing is one of the rights provided by the Turkish Social Insurance Law for the female insured. Maternity service barrowing allows women to include the periods when they cannot work due to giving birth to the retirement payment days by borrowing service from the Social Security Institution (SSI). In this way, female employees can add the period of interruption of their work life, which is interrupted due to giving birth, to the period of services valid for retirement.
Who can request a maternity service borrowing?
The following insured people can apply for a maternity service borrowing from the Social Security Institution:
- Women who have became social insured under a service contract (as to be subjected to the Act No. 2925, the Act No. 506 or the Act No. 5510/4-1(a) social insurance status).
- Women who have became social insured as independent workers in their own name and account (as to be subjected to the Act No. 1479, the Act No. 2926 or the Act No. 5510/4-1(b) social insurance status).
- Women who have became social insured as public servants (as to be subjected to the Act No. 5434 or the Act No. 5510/4-1(c) social insurance status).
What are the conditions for maternity service borrowing?
In order for the insured woman to be able to borrow the two-year period during which she cannot work due to birth, the following conditions must be met:
- For those working within the scope of a service contract, the insurance status must have been registered and premiums have been declared/accrued on their behalf prior the date of the birth.
- For the insured who are in the scope of independent workers in their own name and account having registered and paid or accrued premium debt prior the date of the birth.
- For those who are considered insured within the scope of public servants the social insurance status must be registered prior the date of the birth.
- The birth must have happened at a later date after the start of social insurance.
- The birth must be a live birth.
- The famale insured must have failed to be within the scope of the social insurance after two-years of the birth.
- The child should be alive during the period of service borrowing.
Maternity Service Borrowing Periods
If the insured woman works until three weeks before birth, a total period of two years may be borrowed from the SSI, including the period added to the postpartum rest period.
Women insured can borrow for a maximum of three periods of two years each (corresponding to a maximum of 6 years in total) when they cannot work due to birth.
Periods for which premiums have been paid after the date of birth of female insured women who request maternity insurance borrowing are not taken into account in the debt calculation. Premium paid periods will be deducted from the two-year period and the remaining period can be subjected to social insurance borrowing.
If the child dies during the two-years period in which the birth borrowing is due, the periods up to the date of death can be borrowed from the SSI.
An insured woman who gives birth to her second child less than two years after giving birth to her first child can be borrowing for the period from the first birth to the second birth and the sum of the two-year period that the second birth.
