3 kids not enough, make it 5: Turkey's social security head

Hacer Boyacıoğlu ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

The head of the Social Security Institution (SGK) has recommended that Turkish families have five children instead of the three that Premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently advised. Hürriyet photo

Outdoing the prime minister, the head of the Social Security Institution (SGK) has recommended that Turkish families have five children instead of the three that Premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has frequently advised.

“The three children that our prime minister suggested is the minimum that is needed. Five kids are needed; we should know the facts on that. Of course, economic conditions matter, and of course those children will need a good education. But there are those who don’t have children despite a strong economic status,” said Yadigar Gökalp İlhan, the first-ever female head of the SGK, adding that the country’s social safety net depended on an increase in the country’s birth rate.

“If those who love this country think of the future of the country and of their kids, this is the truth,” she said.

 İlhan said that once the rate of new births begins falling and the proportion of young people in the population begins to decrease, the retirement system will start to face problems, which could be avoided by having more than three children.

The social security head added that the current “trend” was to have two children.

İlhan also noted that there were possible reforms with regards to private health institutions and cooperation within the social security system. Each branch has been conducting debates about what can be done to boost efficiency, she said.