Retirement Planning and BES Consulting

A voluntary savings layer alongside your Turkish pension, not a substitute for it

Turkey's Individual Pension System (Bireysel Emeklilik Sistemi, BES) is a voluntary, privately managed savings scheme that sits alongside — and does not replace — the state social security system (SGK). Contributions are invested by licensed pension companies (emeklilik şirketleri) regulated by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency (SEDDK), across fund options participants choose themselves. FTurkey is a consulting and coordination company, not a pension company, a licensed investment adviser or a tax office, and does not sell BES products, manage your contributions or guarantee any return. What FTurkey can do, within an agreed written scope, is help you understand how BES works, compare providers and fund categories at a general level, and coordinate the practical steps of enrolling with a company you choose.

Who BES is generally relevant for

BES is open to Turkish citizens and, in most cases, to foreign nationals who are tax resident in Turkey and hold a Turkish identification number. It is commonly considered by foreign residents who want a long-term savings vehicle inside Turkey, by employees whose employer offers an auto-enrollment scheme, or by self-employed professionals without an employer-sponsored plan. Whether you are eligible for a specific pension company's product, and which fund categories are open to you, depends on that company's own onboarding rules — FTurkey can help you gather the right questions to ask, not answer them on the company's behalf.

Understanding the state matching contribution

A widely cited feature of BES is the government matching contribution (devlet katkısı) added to a participant's account as an incentive to save, subject to a percentage rate, an annual cap and vesting conditions that are set by regulation and can change over time. FTurkey can walk you through how the matching mechanism generally works and where to verify the current rate and cap directly with a pension company or the official BES portal, but cannot confirm the exact incentive you would receive — that calculation belongs to the pension company administering your account.

Comparing providers and fund options

Licensed pension companies offer different fund menus, from money-market and government-bond-weighted funds to equity and mixed funds, along with different management fee structures and entry/exit conditions. FTurkey can help you organise a comparison of providers on criteria you define — language support, digital account access, fee transparency and the range of fund categories offered — so you approach the right company with informed questions. Selecting a specific fund and accepting its risk profile remains your decision; FTurkey does not provide investment advice or recommend one fund over another.

Coordinating enrollment and documentation

Within the agreed scope, FTurkey can help you assemble the documents a pension company typically requests — identification, tax number and proof of Turkish address — and coordinate the appointment or online application process. The pension company itself carries out the account opening, the suitability questions it is required to ask, and the final activation; this step cannot be delegated to a third party. If your enrollment is linked to an employer scheme, your employer's HR department and the contracted pension company handle the plan-specific rules.

What this service does not cover

FTurkey does not manage your BES account, does not advise on which fund allocation suits your risk tolerance, and does not act as a tax adviser on the treatment of contributions or withdrawals — those matters should be confirmed with the pension company and, where relevant, a licensed mali müşavir. Early withdrawal conditions, surrender charges and the tax treatment of payouts are set by regulation and by each provider's contract; FTurkey can help you locate this information but does not interpret it as advice.

Request a proposal

Request a quote describing your residency status, whether an employer scheme is involved, and what you would like clarified about BES before choosing a provider. FTurkey can then propose a written scope covering the orientation and coordination support available for your situation.