Turkiye’s need for a pay-as-you-go model elderly care insurance is not just a policy problem but also problem that has a bearing on macroeconomic stability, according to Mr Bunyamin Esen, a Social Security Inspector and former head of Strategic Development at the Social Security Institution.
In an article published in the newspaper Daily Sabah, Mr Esen says that Turkey’s population is aging rapidly. In 2023, the proportion of children in the population decreased from 26.4% to 21.4%, while the proportion of those aged at least 65 increased from 7.1% to 10.2%. The median age of the country reached 35 in 2023, a historical record.
Long-term care insurance
Mr Esen says that to resolve the various elderly care issues in the country, Turkey needs to establish premium-based elderly care insurance immediately. He adds that the country has a window of two decades to act.
As Turkiye still has a young population compared to its European peers, and as the young will be net contributors to such a scheme, the system will be collecting for almost two decades, without any significant expense.
Elderly who
Mr Esen cites a report based on the Turkish Elderly Profile Research, a study conducted in late 2023 involving interviews with approximately 29,000 individuals aged 50 and over from 22,640 households across the nation, that highlights the need to establish an elderly care insurance model in the country .
According to the results of the research, 78.7% of people are aged at least 65 had chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, kidney failure, stroke, hepatitis, and asthma. Of the elderly people who had a disability reheart77.6% had one because of chronic diseases, 48.7% had an orthopedic disability report and 23% had a disability report due to visual impairment.
Increased care needs
The proportion of those aged at least 65 who needed home care support was 16.4%. This rate was 10.5% for people aged 65-74 and 26.9% for people aged 75. Yet, in contrast, the proportion of people aged 65 and over who received home care support in the last 12 months was only 2.5%.
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