As of March, the number of participants under the age of 18 in the Individual Retirement System was approaching 1,5 million, while the highest number of participants was seen at the age of zero, with 135. Participation Retirement General Manager Ayhan Sincek said, “Recent developments prove that interest in long-term savings has increased and individual savings systems have become more attractive with the advantages offered by the state contribution. With the increasing awareness of families on this issue, we see that savings start at birth and the individual retirement system has reached a wider audience in society.”
Sincek, who evaluated the BES data for the under-18s in the first quarter of the year, said, “The desire of families to create financial security for their children at an early age increases long-term savings awareness and allows the system to reach a wider audience. With the advantages offered by the state contribution, BES is becoming a tool that encourages saving. We have reached over 167 thousand contracts in our Early BES product, which has become an important milestone in the sector with the interest of families and young people. We are now adding a new dimension to the savings concept that starts at birth with Early BES.”
Emphasizing the importance of Early BES for those under the age of 18 in strengthening savings awareness in Türkiye, Sincek said, “When we look at the number of participants approaching 1,5 million in the sector, we see that the highest participation is at the age of zero with 135 thousand 225. Saving habits that start at an early age provide very important advantages to our young people as they start their lives. As Katılım Emeklilik, we lead the sector with our number of participants exceeding 111 thousand in Early BES, while at the same time we continue to offer innovative products that respond to different needs with our technology investments.”
Families’ investment preference is “Early Private Pension System”
Sincek, who emphasized that they appeal to participants with different risk profiles with their wide range of funds and investment options as Katılım Emeklilik, said, “We offer participants the opportunity to obtain returns above inflation, and we also provide a significant advantage with our interest-free fund options. Our 17 interest-free fund options with high yield performance are an important factor that increases families’ interest in Early BES. Families can evaluate their savings in participation-based retirement funds, such as gold, foreign exchange or stocks, in order to secure their children’s future. Gold funds, in particular, are among the fund options with the highest yield in the sector with their high yield rates. In addition, gold participation funds are ranked first in the yield ranking, and our KEF-Katılım Emeklilik Gold Participation Fund is the most preferred by our participants. In addition, our KEZ-Katılım Emeklilik OKS Aggressive Participation Variable Fund is among the fund groups that yield the most.”
Special advantages and discounts for early BES members
Drawing attention to the wide range of additional services they offer to different age groups within the scope of Early BES, Sincek said, “Our children with Early BES benefit from significant discount advantages in areas such as health, sports, care and school. With the advantage package specially prepared for newborns, mothers can benefit from psychological counseling services free of charge; they can shop from contracted companies at discounted prices for services such as toys, furniture, clothing and nursery. In the Preschool special advantage package for our participants between the ages of 2-5, we offer services such as free dental and eye check-up, play therapy, free or discounted consultancy at contracted clinics and hospitals. In the School Age special advantage package, there are opportunities such as dental and eye check-up for children between the ages of 5-18, online guidance for university entrance preferences, adolescent consultancy service and discounted courses at sports halls.”
