The enormous inflation in Turkey puts a particular strain on pensioners. Living in the cities is so expensive that some are moving back to the villages. So far, President Erdoğan’s campaign promises have not come to fruition.
“I get a pension of 7,500 Turkish lira, the equivalent of around 250 euros, I pay 250 euros in rent, plus electricity, water, bills and groceries,” says Ayşe Aktaş. “It is therefore an impossibility to live only on the pension.” The pensioner used to belong to the middle class when she was still working in the textile industry. If she hadn’t been working in her husband’s second-hand shop for the last three years and he would support her financially, she wouldn’t be able to make a living in Istanbul.
Ayşe Aktaş’s monthly pension is not enough – she has to keep working.
Ayşe is one of around a third of the pensioners who have to live on a monthly pension of around 250 euros. According to union calculations, Ayşe is just above the poverty line. Many pensioners therefore continue to work like them.
Annual inflation of nearly 60 percent predicted
Hardly a day goes by without a price increase. If the Turkish sesame ring Simit cost five Turkish lira last year, the price has now doubled. According to data from inflation research group ENAGrup, the price index, calculated from daily price changes between June and July 2023, increased by 13.18 percent. After that, food and soft drink prices rose 14.66 percent, housing costs rose 6.05 percent, and restaurant prices rose 9.15 percent. It is expected that they will continue to increase.
Inflation in July was around 47.83 percent compared to the same month last year. The central bank’s forecast for annual inflation is 58 percent. Experts suspect that inflation is many times higher. Many people have to limit themselves due to the constantly rising prices or are dependent on the financial support of their families.
Rents in big cities are rising sharply
Pensioners in big cities are particularly affected – the average rent for apartments in Istanbul is now 1.5 times the minimum wage. According to the city administration, rents have risen by almost 700 percent in the last four years.
Many pensioners are therefore forced to move away. Ayşe Aktaş knows some people who feel this way. One of them is Arzu Belbüken. The pensioner is still working independently as a translator and coach and will soon be moving to Izmir. In her everyday life she has to restrict herself severely.
Arzu Belbüken has to cut back heavily because of the enormous inflation.
“I used to go out to eat very often – almost every day. Now it’s only possible every two weeks at most. We have to adapt to the situation and change our habits,” she says, looking at the floor. When asked if she can save for old age if she can no longer work as she does now, she says: “That’s not possible. Carpe Diem! Live the day. I’ve stopped dreaming. I only live the moment .”
Are “revolutionary steps” necessary?
“If Turkey does not take serious and possibly revolutionary steps to solve the housing crisis in the coming years, this crisis will deepen and we will face the most serious housing shortage in the history of the republic,” said Buğra Gökce, deputy secretary general of Istanbul City administration IBB, with the short message service X (formerly Twitter).
Istanbul’s population decreased by more than 56,000 people to just over 15 million people in 2020, according to data released by Turkey’s Statistics Office TÜİK. A similar trend continued in 2021. Due to inflation and the additional fear of the forecast major earthquake in Istanbul, experts now expect the number to at least double.
The AKP government plans to encourage return migration to the villages. Subsidies for electricity and water, for example, are being considered for retirees who move away from Istanbul. A measure to reduce the population density in the mega-metropolis – which is driving gentrification. Retirees moving away does not solve the problem of inflation, nor does it improve the devastating financial conditions.