Neoliberal transformation and pension regimes in social security in Turkey: The example of Ordu province

This master's thesis examines the neoliberal policies implemented after 1980, which had a great impact in every field all over the world and in our country, and the negative impact of the neoliberal transformation created by these policies on retirement regimes. The study aims to identify these problems and offer solutions through interviews with retired people living in Ordu province. The problems experienced by retirees after neoliberal transformation constitute the main subject of this study. Within the framework of qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview form. The study aims to identify the effects of neoliberal policies on pension regimes and the reflections of these regimes on the lives of retirees, and to contribute to the development of solution proposals to address these negative outcomes. The findings obtained indicate that, as our country tends to become an aging population, the rate of retired population is constantly increasing and the working population has become insufficient to meet the financial burden of the retired population on the state. The state, with the support of its neoliberal policies, has aimed to gradually remove the social security measures to be taken by the people it includes during their retirement from this financial burden, which it has difficulty in meeting, and leave it to the individual responsibilities of the people. In this study, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 retirees living in the province of Ordu. The interviews revealed that the participants experience a range of challenges in their social lives, including both shared and individual-specific problems. However, it was emphasized that the majority of these issues stem fundamentally from the insufficiency of their pension income..