Obstacles to the seizure and blockage of pensions have been lifted: Here is the Supreme Court's decision

Due to the consumer loans used by retirees, banks have not been able to directly garnish pensions until now, and these transactions were only reversed through objections to those who did so.

However, the Supreme Court decided to combine the jurisprudence in order to end the different practices on this issue.

According to the new decision, banks have been allowed to block pensions in line with approvals and instructions such as detention, exchange, and offset given within the scope of loan agreements.

From now on, if the retiree gives explicit consent to such transactions when taking out a loan, the bank will be able to block the salary.

BE CAREFUL WHEN TAKEOUT A LOAN

It's crucial for retirees to carefully review every clause they sign or approve when taking out a loan . It's particularly important to avoid clauses that allow for wage garnishment . However, because loan agreements are typically standardized and offered in bulk , it's unclear whether the bank will accept such changes. Furthermore, retirees in urgent need of cash are often forced to sign the agreement as is.

The Constitution was cited as the basis

The Supreme Court of Appeals based its decision on the blocking of pensions on Article 48 of the Constitution, titled "Freedom of Work and Contract." The article states, "Everyone has the freedom to work and to enter into contracts in any field they choose." Based on this provision, the Supreme Court ruled that pensions can be blocked under loan agreements with the explicit consent and approval of retirees.

It is stated differently in the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510.

Article 93 of Law No. 5510 states, " In accordance with the law, the income, salaries, and allowances of insured individuals and beneficiaries, and the receivables of health service providers arising from the implementation of the provisions of general health insurance cannot be transferred or assigned. Income, salaries, and allowances cannot be seized except for receivables that must be pursued and collected according to Article 88 and alimony debts ." The article continues with Article 32 of Law No. 5838, dated February 18, 2009, as follows: " Requests for the seizure of income, salaries , and allowances prohibited from being seized according to this paragraph shall be rejected by the enforcement officer in the absence of the debtor 's consent ."

HOW MUCH OF YOUR SALARY WILL BE CONFIDENTIALIZED?

There's uncertainty surrounding how much of a retiree's salary will be seized if they consent and approve the loan agreement. In other words, if a retiree takes out a loan with a high payment amount — for example, if their salary is 20,000 lira and their loan installment is 23,000 lira— the decision doesn't specify whether the entire salary or only a quarter of it will be seized, potentially leading to new disputes between banks and retirees .

IT WAS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE DESPITE OBJECTIONS

Despite the objections of some members of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the unification of jurisprudence was accepted by majority vote and entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette .