Rising Elderly Unemployment Signals Deepening Retirement Crisis in Turkey

Turkey is witnessing a quiet but profound shift in its labor market: a growing number of citizens aged 60 and above are actively seeking work, not by choice but by necessity. Recent data from İŞKUR and TÜİK reveal a sharp rise in unemployment, informal labor, and job searches among older adults, underscoring how shrinking pension incomes and soaring living costs are reshaping retirement itself.

Older Workers Returning to the Job Market

According to official İŞKUR figures, the number of unemployed individuals aged 60 and over registered with the agency climbed to 36,083 in January. This represents a 16.4 percent increase compared with the same month a year earlier, when the figure stood at 30,991. Even on a monthly basis, the rise is notable: from December’s 35,565 to January’s total, an additional 427 older jobseekers entered the system.

This trend is closely linked to declining purchasing power among retirees. With the lowest pension set at 20,000 Turkish lira in January—well below both the hunger threshold and the minimum wage—many retirees find themselves unable to meet basic expenses. As a result, reaching the legal retirement age no longer marks an exit from working life. For many, it signals a return to job applications, temporary work, or informal employment.

Employment Placements Rise, But Not Enough

İŞKUR data also show an increase in job placements for this age group. In January alone, 1,575 individuals aged 60 and above were placed in jobs through the agency. While this may appear encouraging, it masks a deeper issue: demand for work among older citizens is rising faster than opportunities that offer stability, fair wages, and social protection.

Most of these placements are short-term, low-paid, or physically demanding. For older workers, especially those with health limitations, such jobs often represent a stopgap rather than a sustainable solution. The growing gap between the number of job seekers and the quality of available employment highlights structural weaknesses in labor market policies targeting older age groups.

Growing Reliance on Unemployment Benefits

Another indicator of distress is the increase in applications for unemployment benefits among individuals aged 60 and older. During the January–December period of 2025, a total of 11,649 older individuals applied for unemployment payments. Of these, 6,365 were eligible to receive benefits. This marks a clear increase compared with the previous year, when 9,212 people applied and 5,099 qualified for support.

While access to unemployment benefits provides temporary relief, it also reflects the increasing instability of employment among older citizens. Many cycle between short-term jobs and unemployment, struggling to secure a consistent income at a stage of life traditionally associated with financial security.

Millions Working After Retirement

Beyond registered unemployment figures lies an even larger phenomenon: continued employment after retirement. As of November 2025, the number of retirees working while paying Social Security Support Contributions reached 2.16 million. This means that 18 out of every 100 pensioners receiving an old-age pension are formally employed.

This statistic alone challenges conventional notions of retirement. Rather than serving as leisure or rest, retirement increasingly resembles a partial transition in which pensions supplement wages rather than replace them. However, even these figures do not capture the full scale of the issue.

The Hidden Crisis of Informal Employment

Perhaps the most alarming data come from TÜİK’s labor force statistics for the third quarter of 2025. According to these figures, 1.761 million people aged 60 and over are working informally, without registration or social security coverage. These individuals are absent from official active-insured worker counts and often endure precarious, low-wage, and unsafe conditions.

Informal employment strips older workers of legal protections, healthcare security, and future benefits. It also exposes them to exploitation, as they may accept unfavorable terms simply to survive. The sheer size of this group indicates a systemic failure to integrate older citizens into the labor market in a dignified and secure manner.

A Structural Challenge for Social Policy

The convergence of rising elderly unemployment, expanding informal labor, and inadequate pensions indicates that Turkey’s retirement and social security systems are under strain. As inflation erodes fixed incomes, older citizens are pushed back into the workforce, often under conditions that undermine their well-being.

This is not merely a labor market issue but a broader social challenge. Ensuring adequate pensions, creating age-friendly employment opportunities, and reducing informal work are essential steps to prevent deeper poverty among older populations. Without such measures, the line between working age and retirement will continue to blur, leaving millions vulnerable in their later years.