Türkiye eliminated the retirement age requirement, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a news conference late Wednesday, in a move that allows more than 2 million workers to retire immediately.

The new arrangement will benefit people who started working before September 1999, when the law regulating retirement requirements changed, and who have completed 20-25 years of social security-registered careers.

Thousands of citizens, who want to use their right to retire by taking advantage of the new regulation, lined up in front of Social Security Institution (SGK) buildings nationwide starting in the early hours of Thursday.

Previously, the retirement age was set at 58 years old for women and at 60 for men. It was not yet clear how much the new system would cost, but Erdoğan said 2.25 million people were eligible to retire immediately. There are currently 13.9 million pensioners in Türkiye.

"With major rises in the minimum wage, public salaries and pensions, we have already shown and continue to show that we stand with fixed-income employees who suffer from the global crises' effects on our country," Erdoğan said.

The country delivered a hefty hike to the minimum wage last week as part of a campaign to shield citizens from inflation.

The minimum wage was raised by 54.5% and will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2023.

The net minimum wage for single individuals will be TL 8,500 ($455) a month, up from TL 5,500.

Turkish households have been struggling with the highest inflation in more than two decades. Annual inflation dropped below 85% last month after touching a 24-year high in October. It is expected to decline sharply in the period ahead as a result of the base effect and falling energy prices globally.

The almost 55% raise is the third hike in the past year. The country enacted a 50% hike at the beginning of 2022, which lifted the minimum wage to TL 4,250. It was then decided to raise the minimum wage in the country again by 30% mid-year in an effort to safeguard households from soaring inflation.