In Bartın, the Supreme Court put an end to the case of a woman who received a "widow's pension" from her second husband, who died while still living in the same house with her first husband, whom she divorced on paper. The 206 thousand lira debt decision issued by SSI by deducting irregular salaries was unanimously approved by the highest judicial authority.
Strict controls carried out to prevent unfair gain by abusing the social security system were brought to the judiciary this time in Bartın. The process started when the plaintiff woman, living in Bartın, divorced her first husband in 2005 and married another person shortly afterwards. After her second husband died in 2007, the woman was granted a survivor's pension (widow's pension) by SSI. However, meticulous research conducted by SSI social security inspectors in the field, headman records and neighbors' statements revealed a completely different truth: The woman was actually continuing to live as husband and wife in the same house with her first husband, from whom she had divorced on paper.
Following this determination, SSI took immediate action and cut off the widow's pension that the woman had received irregularly. The institution has accrued a debt of 206,764.79 TL in total retroactively for the money paid to date.
This incident, which was highlighted by SSI Expert İsa Karakaş and is of great importance in terms of social security law, was brought to the Supreme Court after the local court and appeal stages. The 10th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which examined the file, found the findings of the SSI to be appropriate and unanimously approved the penalty and salary deduction decision. This decision sets a precedent for thousands of people who receive illegal salaries through similarly consensual divorces or de facto unions. Authorities remind that if unjustly paid salaries are detected, they will continue to be collected with retroactive interest.