SGK Premium Rate Amendments: Incentive and Ceiling Changes Affecting Payroll (Law No. 7566)

Published in the Official Gazette (No. 33112, 19 December 2025), Law No. 7566 revises the SGK contribution rules under Law No. 5510 in three payroll-relevant areas: SGK premium rates, the Treasury-supported employer premium discount (point discount) and the earnings subject to premium ceiling. These changes update key 2026 payroll parameters used in SGK rate tables and earnings-ceiling calculations.

1. Statutory contribution rates for 4/1-a employees (increase in long-term branches)

Under Law No. 5510, the contribution rate structure for employees subject to Article 4/1-a (standard payroll employment) includes: short-term insurance branches (employer), invalidity–old age–survivors (employee + employer), general health insurance (employee + employer), and unemployment insurance (employee + employer).

With Law No. 7566, the employer share for “Invalidity, Old Age and Death Insurance Premium” increases from 11% to 12%, and the related total for that branch rises accordingly.

This change directly increases the employer’s cost and also updates the “total social security premium” ratio used in payroll parameter tables.

2. Increase in the contribution base ceiling

Law No. 7566 amends Article 82 of Law No. 5510 by changing the contribution base ceiling multiplier from 7.5 to 9. This affects payroll calculations for higher earners by expanding the portion of earnings subject to social security premiums (and therefore also impacts employer cost modelling and budgeting).

SOCIAL SECURITY BASE AND CEILING

• BASE: Monthly gross minimum wage (for the relevant period)
• CEILING: Base × 9 (effective from 01 January 2026, pursuant to Law No. 5510, Article 82 as amended by Law No. 7566)

3. Reduction of the Treasury-funded employer incentive

Law No. 7566 amends Article 81(1)(i) of Law No. 5510 by reducing the Treasury-supported social security employer premium discount from four points to two points for workplaces outside manufacturing, meaning that—where the incentive conditions are met—the Treasury-covered portion of the employer’s invalidity–old age–survivors contribution is smaller, and the employer’s net cost increases accordingly.

Consistently, the same law revises Temporary Article 108 using the same “four → two” wording; however, for workplaces classified as manufacturing based on the workplace’s NACE code (NACE Rev.2 Section C – Manufacturing), the five-point discount continues to apply until 31 December 2026, with presidential authority to extend it up to 31 December 2027.

4. Additional SGK Updates Under Law No. 7566

In addition to the headline payroll changes covered above (the increase in the employer share of invalidity–old age–survivors insurance, the reduction of the Treasury-supported employer premium discount outside manufacturing, and the increase in the contribution ceiling), Law No. 7566 introduced several further SGK-related updates that will materially affect cost forecasting and individual contribution calculations. As of January 2026, the contribution rate applicable to most service credit purchases increases from 32% to 45% (excluding birth-related purchases), and the reinstatement (ihya) rate for suspended Bağ-Kur periods is aligned upward from 34.75% to 45%. The invalidity–old age–survivors rate applied to selected categories (including voluntary insurance, agricultural work, certain part-time arrangements, and domestic work under 10 days) also increases from 20% to 21%. In parallel, a new collection mechanism allows SGK to recover premium-related debts (including general health insurance premium debts) through deductions from pensions/benefits, capped at 25% of the monthly amount. Separately, the same law authorizes the President to adjust the private pension system state contribution rate by increasing it up to 50% or reducing it down to zero, effective upon publication.

5. Implementation

Under the law’s entry-into-force clause, rate and incentive changes apply from the beginning of January 2026, while the increase in the earnings subject to premium ceiling (7.5× → 9×) applies as of 1 January 2026; in practice, employers should implement all updates starting with January 2026 payroll and January 2026 SGK filings.

The full Turkish text of the law is available at the Turkish official Gazette:  ↓

T.C. Resmî Gazete. (2025, December 19). 7566 sayılı Vergi Kanunları ile Bazı Kanun ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun (Sayı: 33112). Retrieved December 20, 2025, from: https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/12/20251219-1.htm