Death Pension, Accrued Retirement Pension and Payments Due to Death: How They Differ from Inheritance Rights

A death pension (ölüm aylığı), a retirement pension the deceased had already earned during their lifetime but that remained unpaid, a funeral allowance and compensation payable because of a death are not the same right. Some are paid to the rightsholders named in social security legislation, some to the heirs, and some to a specific relative or to the person who bore the costs. The shares shown in a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) do not apply in the same way to every payment made on account of a death. [1, 2]

Why Is a Death Pension Not an Inheritance Share?

Law No. 5510 regulates the insurance and premium conditions for death insurance, together with the conditions for entitlement. Different conditions apply to a spouse, a child and a parent. Being an heir is not, by itself, enough for a pension to be awarded; a person who is not an heir may also be entitled under a special provision. [1]

In the general framework, options such as 1,800 days of premiums or, for 4/a insured persons only, the statutory condition of five years of insurance coverage and 900 days are considered. The date of death, insurance status, former statutory provisions, purchase of service periods and debt status may change the outcome. For this reason, a single number of premium days should not be given for everyone. [3]

Other Payments Due to Death

Severance pay (kıdem tazminatı) arising on an employee's death and other employment receivables are also examined under their own legislation. The death payment under Article 440 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK) is assessed separately, according to its own conditions. Calling every payment “inheritance money” can lead to the wrong documents and the wrong rightsholder. [4]

How Is the Application Prepared?

The death record, the insured person's identity and status, and the applicant's identity and family information are prepared. The name of the benefit requested is stated clearly. The institution's electronic or written application channel is used. For foreign birth, marriage or death documents, the requirements for authentication and translation are checked.

For a child, a student or invalidity (malullük) certificate; for a spouse or parent, information on income, pension and employment is completed where required. A certificate of inheritance is not the document on which every death pension application rests; on the other hand, it may be requested for the payment of a receivable that belongs to the estate. A record of the application date and of the documents submitted is kept. [3]

The Name of the Application Changes the Rightsholder

A death pension, a work-related death benefit, a funeral allowance, a lump-sum death payment or an accrued amount already earned may come into question for the same death. Their conditions and rightsholders are not the same. Merely stating “I want my inheritance money” in a petition may leave the request unclear. The status of the insured person and the payment requested must be shown clearly. [1]

For a pension, the applicant's statutory entitlement is examined alongside the premium conditions. Under 4/a, in the option of five years of insurance coverage and 900 days, it is important that all kinds of purchased service periods are excluded. This option should not be described as the same as the 1,800-day option. The date of death and the possibility of being subject to earlier legislation are also assessed. [3]

Why Is Information About Work Abroad Requested?

Working or receiving a pension in a foreign country may have consequences for the regime to be applied. The conditions are not the same for a spouse, a child and a parent. If one person's right is affected by their employment status, it is not assumed that the same result applies to the whole family. Citizenship, residence and foreign social security status are recorded separately. [1]

In countries with a bilateral social security agreement, special provisions on combining periods of service or on the application procedure may come into play. Not every agreement has the same scope. Purchasing periods of service abroad is also not the same transaction as combining service under an agreement; premium, citizenship and application conditions are examined separately. A definite pension outcome should not be given without knowing the country and the insurance history.

Is the Entire Amount Deposited in the Bank Part of the Inheritance?

A deposit made after the death does not, on its own, show that the payment was earned after the death or that all of it was unwarranted. The period to which it relates is determined from the SGK record. An accrued amount earned during the person's lifetime is separated from an amount wrongly deposited for a later period. A receipt shows the payment date; it does not always explain the period in which the entitlement arose. [1]

Before the whole balance is withdrawn with a bank card, the death is notified and a period-by-period calculation is requested. If the same account holds personal savings and a retirement pension, their sources are separated. Asking for a refund after an unwarranted payment has already been shared out may create an additional dispute among the heirs. The institution's account letter and the bank statement should be kept together.

Disclaimer of Inheritance and the Social Security Right

A disclaimer is an inheritance law transaction concerning the estate's receivables and debts. A death pension is a social security right that arises from statutory entitlement. It cannot be said that a person who has disclaimed the inheritance can apply for no death payment at all. However, it must be determined whether the amount requested is an independent pension or an accrued receivable belonging to the estate. [2, 1]

Requesting a pension and using all the money in the estate for personal purposes are not the same conduct. Dispositions made during the disclaimer period are assessed separately. Protective measures should not be confused with conduct that could amount to acceptance. If several payments have arrived in the same account, the legal source of each must be explained.

Examining a Rejection and a Recovery Decision

The reason for a rejection may be a shortfall in premiums, an entitlement condition, a dispute over records or being subject to different legislation. For a premium shortfall, the service record; for a student or invalidity condition, the relevant certificate; for work abroad, the official insurance record is required. A new certificate of inheritance does not solve all of these gaps.

For an unwarranted payment, it is checked which periods are being reclaimed, for what reason and from which account. The distinction in Article 96 of Law No. 5510 between a payment resulting from the intent or fault of the person concerned and one resulting from an error of the institution is important. The notification, the interest calculation and the avenue of application are examined together. The judicial route and the preliminary application requirements depend on the insured person's regime. [1]

Completing the File and Later Notifications

The pension award decision, the start date, the rate and the bank payment are compared. The period of the accrued amount is explained. Changes in employment, marriage, education and other entitlement status are notified in accordance with the relevant regime. Receiving the first payment does not mean that no notification will be needed in the future.

At closing, social security payments, insurance, private pension (BES) savings and estate receivables are kept separate. In this way, it can be understood to which person, for what reason and in what amount the different payments made to the same family belong. Only the items that genuinely belong to the estate are included in the calculation for dividing the inheritance.

Rates and Special Conditions in a Death Pension

The Surviving Spouse's Share

Under Article 34 of Law No. 5510, a pension at a rate of 50 percent is generally awarded to the widowed spouse. For a spouse with no child entitled to a pension, the rate may be 75 percent if the spouse also meets the statutory conditions regarding employment and not receiving income or a pension from their own insurance. The exceptions set out in the law are also taken into account separately. Therefore, having one's own retirement pension is not the same as the death pension disappearing entirely; the rate and the entitlement are examined separately. This explanation does not mean that all former social security regimes are subject to a single rule. Law No. 5510, Article 34

The Conditions Are Different for a Child and a Parent

For children, the general age limit is set at 18; at 20 for high school and equivalent education; and at 25 for higher education. Provisions tied to invalidity and to the marital status of daughters apply separately. For a child who meets the statutory conditions, the general rate is 25 percent, although 50 percent may apply in some special cases. Age, education, employment, the child's own pension and the invalidity review are carried out together. Because there is also a statutory exception regarding employment under 4/a for children who continue to meet the age and education conditions, a sentence such as “every working child loses the pension” cannot be stated.

The right of a mother and father depends on income and pension conditions and, in some cases, on there being a remaining share left over from the other rightsholders. For those over sixty-five, there is a special provision on the remaining share. It should not be assumed that some amount will necessarily remain after the pensions of the spouse and children; the rules on the total rate limit and on recalculation among rightsholders apply. These rates are not written in place of shares such as one-fourth or one-half in a certificate of inheritance. Law No. 5510, Articles 34–35

Two Genuine Court of Cassation Decisions on Applications from Abroad

A Child Receiving a Pension from Germany Based on Their Own Employment

In its decision of November 5, 2015, E.2015/833, K.2015/19494, the 21st Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 21. Hukuk Dairesi) assessed a request for a death pension from his father by a person who was receiving a retirement pension based on employment in Germany. The local court had granted the request; the Court of Cassation reversed the decision, taking into account the employment and pension situation under foreign law within the framework of Article 34 of Law No. 5510 that it applied in the file. This is an example showing not that residing abroad is by itself a ground for rejection, but that foreign insurance information matters in assessing entitlement. Full text of the decision — De Jure; an account may be required for access

The outcome of the decision cannot be applied as is to all surviving spouses, all dates of death or all social security agreements. The insured person's date of death, the regime to which they were subject, whether the claimant is a spouse or a child, and the source of the foreign payment must be investigated. Social assistance in a foreign country, a retirement pension arising from a person's own employment and a death pension awarded through another person are not the same concepts. The institution should be asked to explain which foreign payment is treated as an obstacle and under which provision.

A Person Receiving Their Own Pension from a Bank Pension Fund

In its decision of November 21, 2024, E.2024/8384, K.2024/11611, the 10th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 10. Hukuk Dairesi) examined a dispute over a death pension from the father of a person receiving their own retirement pension from a bank fund within the scope of provisional Article 20 of Law No. 506. The outcome rejecting the request was affirmed. This file is not a decision about retirement in a foreign country; it shows that a pension received from a private fund in Türkiye cannot be left outside the review either. Full text of the decision — De Jure; an account may be required for access

The method that emerges from reading the two decisions together is this: it is not enough to look at the applicant's income merely as a bank account balance. The institution, legal type, start date and underlying insurance coverage of each payment must be documented. The decisions should be used not to promise an automatic outcome, but to identify gaps in the investigation in the file.

Start Date, the Five-Year Period and Late Applications

Under Article 35 of Law No. 5510, the start of a death pension is generally taken as the first day of the month following the date of death; if the entitlement condition is acquired later, the relevant date of acquisition is used. Special provisions, such as those on the re-award of a pension, apply separately. Entering the application date in the system does not mean that the start date has been calculated correctly. In the first payment statement, the accrued period and the current pension should be shown separately.

The five-year statute of limitations in Article 97 of the Law matters for the past pension portions that were not requested. A generalization such as “five years have passed, so a pension cannot be received in the future either” should not be made. The statutory provision on being unable to apply on time for a justified reason is examined separately. For some other rights arising from death insurance, a five-year preclusive period may apply. A statute of limitations and a preclusive period do not produce the same consequences; the name of the payment requested and the provision it is subject to must be determined. Law No. 5510, Articles 35 and 97

How Is the Calculation Reviewed If an Unwarranted Pension Is Reclaimed?

Article 96 of Law No. 5510 distinguishes between a payment resulting from the intent or fault of the person concerned and a payment arising from an error of the institution. For the first group, the provision concerns a payment period of at most ten years counted back from the date of detection; for an error of the institution, at most five years. These should not be described as the general limitation period for lawsuits for every kind of receivable.

Interest is not the same either. Where the person concerned acted with intent or fault, interest from the payment dates may apply. In the case of an institution's error, no interest is charged on a payment made within twenty-four months from notification; for a payment after that period, interest is applied from the end of the twenty-four-month period. The notification date, the date of each payment and the fault the institution is asserting must be checked separately. The institution merely reporting a total figure does not prove that every item of the calculation is correct. Law No. 5510, Article 96

Work-Related Death Benefit, Funeral Allowance and Lump-Sum Payment

A work-related death benefit arising from a work accident or occupational disease is not identical to the 1,800-day or 900-day conditions of death insurance. The connection of the death to work and the special entitlement conditions are examined. SGK explanation of the death benefit

For the funeral allowance, the statutory order of priority and who bore the expense are important. The lump-sum death payment is assessed, in certain situations where a pension cannot be awarded, on the premium elements defined in the law; it is not a refund of all the SGK premiums paid over the insured person's lifetime. The rejection of one benefit does not mean that the other benefits are automatically rejected as well. In the file, the application, decision, calculation and payment record for each request should be kept separately. Law No. 5510, Articles 36–37

Conclusion

In a file on payments due to death, the source of the right must be determined first. If a social security pension, an estate receivable and contractual compensation are pursued through separate applications, action can be taken on the right person, the right amount and the right period.

Related articles: Death in Private Pension Plans: BES Savings, State Contribution and Payment to the Beneficiary; Death Compensation under Life Insurance: Beneficiary, Heirs and the Status of the Loan Debt; What Happens If a Maintenance Debtor or Creditor Dies? Accrued Receivables and the Liability of Heirs; Disclaimer of Inheritance: Application Procedure, Time Limits and Protection from Estate Debts

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every heir receive a death pension?

No. The entitlement conditions in social security legislation are required.

If I disclaim the inheritance, is the death pension lost as well?

A disclaimer of inheritance and the independent social security right are assessed separately.

Can a pension deposited after the death be withdrawn?

First, it should be confirmed with the institution whether it is an amount that was earned or an unwarranted payment.

Can a spouse living abroad apply?

This is assessed within the framework of the relevant regime, the employment/pension conditions and, where there is one, the social security agreement.

Sources and legal bases

[1] Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance

[2] Law No. 4721, Turkish Civil Code

[3] SGK explanations on the death pension, entitlement and application

[4] Law No. 6098, Turkish Code of Obligations

[5] Full text of the decision — De Jure; an account may be required for access

[6] Full text of the decision — De Jure; an account may be required for access

[7] SGK explanation of the death benefit