Early retirement in Ukraine: lawyers explain how the system works

The issue of early retirement in Ukrainian law remains a complex and multi-level topic that requires a precise understanding of legislative norms, the practice of their application and associated legal risks. The current system provides for a number of special grounds for granting pensions before reaching the generally established retirement age. This applies to both individual professional groups and social categories defined by the legislator. At the same time, the practice of issuing an early pension is accompanied by many details: from confirmation of seniority, substantiation of benefits and compliance with special criteria to procedural nuances, which often become grounds for refusal or appeal of decisions of the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

At the request of the editors of IA “FACT”, the lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association commented on the existing legal norms and the specifics of the application of the provisions of the legislation in matters of early retirement, as well as provided relevant practical recommendations.

In Ukraine, as in many other countries of the world, the retirement age is gradually increasing, but even in spite of this, there are situations when a person has the right to retire earlier. This is absolutely legal and provided for by current legislation, although it can sometimes affect the size of the future pension. Early retirement can be issued by those citizens who fall under specifically defined conditions, defined in clauses 6 and 7 of part 1 of Article 115 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance”.

Persons who fall into one of these situations have the right to early retirement according to age. The first situation concerns those people with whom the employer terminated the employment contract on his own initiative or due to the decision of the authorized body in connection with changes in the organization of production and work. Such changes include: liquidation of the enterprise, its reorganization, bankruptcy, repurposing of the enterprise, institution or organization, as well as reduction of the number or staff of employees.

In this case, early retirement is possible if all the following requirements are met:

• on the day of release, the person had no more than one and a half years left before reaching retirement age, which is defined by Article 26 of this Law;
• after dismissal, the person registered with the state employment service;
• at the time of applying to the employment service, there is no suitable job for this person;
• a person has sufficient insurance experience, which is required for the appointment of an old-age pension in the minimum amount provided for in the first paragraph of the first part of Article 28 of this Law: for women – at least 30 years of insurance experience, for men – at least 35 years of insurance experience.

The second situation is provided for persons with whom the employment contract has been terminated at the initiative of the employer or the body authorized by him in connection with the discovery of the employee’s incompatibility with the position he holds due to his state of health. Such inconsistency must be established in accordance with the procedure determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. In this case, the appointment of an early pension is possible under the following conditions:

• on the day of dismissal, no more than one and a half years remained before reaching the retirement age established by Article 26 of this Law;
• a person has the insurance experience necessary for the appointment of an age pension in the minimum amount provided for in the first paragraph of the first part of Article 28 of this Law: for women – 30 years, for men – 35 years.

To issue such a pension, you need to submit a certain package of documents to the Pension Fund. Its list is clearly defined by the Procedure for submission and processing of documents for the appointment (recalculation) of pensions in accordance with the Law, approved by the resolution of the board of the Pension Fund of Ukraine dated November 25, 2005 No. 22-1.

The following must be submitted:

• employment book, a copy of the order (order) on dismissal or information on employment from the register of insured persons;
• a petition for early retirement issued by an employment center (regional, city, district, city-district) — in the case of registration of a pension under Clause 6 of Part One of Article 115 of the Law;
• certificates from medical institutions, which confirm that the employee is recognized as unfit for work due to his state of health – in the case of issuing a pension in accordance with clause 7 of the first part of article 115 of the Law.

Thus, if a person was dismissed due to downsizing (not earlier than 1.5 years before reaching retirement age), he must register with the employment service as a job seeker within seven calendar days from the date of dismissal. Provided that a woman has 30 years of insurance experience, and a man – 35 years, and the employment service issues a referral (request) for early retirement, such a person can apply to the Pension Fund at the place of residence and receive the right to early retirement from the date of submission of documents.

At the same time, the amount of pension for early retirement is determined in the same way as for regular retirement. It depends on the acquired insurance experience and the amount of salary from which insurance contributions to the Pension Fund of Ukraine were paid. Note that the very fact of early retirement does not lead to a reduction in the amount of the pension.

In accordance with the “Procedure for registration, re-registration of registered unemployed and keeping records of persons looking for work”, approved by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 446 of March 30, 2023, subject to compliance with all the above conditions, the right to early retirement is guaranteed under the following additional conditions:

1. A person must register at the employment center within 30 calendar days from the date of dismissal. If for valid reasons this deadline was not met, the registration deadline may be extended. Good reasons are defined in clause 29 of this Procedure. In such a case, the registration of a person as unemployed in the employment center is carried out on the next day after the termination of the circumstances that were associated with a valid reason.
2. Within seven calendar days from the date of registration, there should be no available suitable work for such a person. This is determined in accordance with Article 46 of the Law of Ukraine “On Employment of the Population”. During the martial law, the provisions of paragraphs eighteen to twenty, clause 5-2 of chapter XI “Final and transitional provisions” of the Law of Ukraine “On employment of the population” are applied.
3. A person must have the insurance experience necessary for the appointment of an old-age pension in the minimum amount, which is provided for in the first paragraph of the first part of Article 28 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance”.

It is worth noting that confirmation of the acquired insurance experience and retirement age for such citizens is carried out through the exchange of information between the State Employment Center and the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

A registered unemployed person who has acquired the right to early retirement due to age applies to the employment center with statements: about receiving a petition to the Pension Fund of Ukraine regarding the appointment of a pension, as well as about termination of registration at the employment center. The forms of these applications are approved by the State Employment Center.

It is important to know that an application for the appointment of an early retirement pension is submitted by a person to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine from the day after his registration as unemployed is terminated.

In addition to the cases already described, Article 115 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance” provides for several more categories of persons who are also entitled to early retirement based on age. The first category consists of persons suffering from pituitary dwarfism (midgets) and disproportionate dwarfs. For them, the right to early retirement comes after reaching the age of 45 for men and 40 for women, provided that men have at least 20 years of insurance experience, and women have at least 15 years of insurance experience.

The second category is persons with visual disabilities of the I group (blind), as well as persons with disabilities since childhood of the I group. They have the right to early retirement after reaching the age of 50 for men and 40 for women. At the same time, for men it is necessary to have at least 15 years of insurance experience, and for women – at least 10 years of insurance experience.

The third category includes women who:

• gave birth to five or more children and raised them until they reached the age of six;
• are mothers of persons with disabilities since childhood, as well as seriously ill children who have not been diagnosed with a disability, but who were raised before they reached the age of six;
• after reaching the age of 50 and with at least 15 years of insurance experience.

At the same time, children with disabilities under the age of 18 are also considered persons with disabilities since childhood.

Please note: if the mother has the right to an early pension, but she refuses it, or if she does not have it, then this right passes to the father. Provided that the father himself raised five or more children, a child with a disability or a seriously ill child who has not been diagnosed with a disability, before they reach the age of six, he can issue an early pension after reaching the age of 55, if he has at least 20 years of insurance experience.

A separate category includes military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine who:

• took part in hostilities, in the area of ​​the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) and/or directly participated in measures related to ensuring the defense of Ukraine, the protection of the population and the interests of the state in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine;
• those who have been diagnosed with disability due to injuries, contusions, mutilations received during the defense of the Motherland or performing other military or official duties, or due to illnesses related to being at the front;
• wives (husbands), if they have not remarried;
• parents of military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who died or died during service or after discharge from it, if the death occurred as a result of injury, contusion, mutilation or illness related to the performance of official duties or being at the front;
• persons who have the status of a participant in hostilities;
• persons from among reservists, conscripts and members of voluntary formations of the territorial community, who received the status of a participant in hostilities;
• persons with disabilities as a result of war in accordance with Clause 11 of Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection”;
• wives (husbands) who did not remarry, and parents who received the status of family members of fallen (deceased) Defenders of Ukraine.

For all these categories, early retirement is granted after reaching the age of 55 for men and 50 for women, provided that there is at least 25 years of insurance experience for men and at least 20 years for women.

Also, children who became persons with disabilities before reaching adulthood, and parents who have been granted the status of family members of dead (deceased) war veterans have the right to an early pension. For them, early retirement is possible after reaching the age of 55 for men and 50 for women, if the man has at least 25 years of insurance experience, and the woman – at least 20 years.

At the same time, we emphasize once again: according to Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance”, the retirement age and the right to receive an old-age pension depend on the acquired insurance experience and are 60, 63 and 65 years. Each year, the insurance experience required for old-age retirement increases by one year.

Therefore, in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2025, those citizens who have at least 32 years of insurance experience will be entitled to a pension at the age of 60. Persons with 22 to 32 years of service will be able to retire at 63, and at 65 – those with 15 to 22 years of service. If by the age of 65 a person has not gained even the minimum insurance experience, he will not receive the right to an old-age pension, but he will have the right to social assistance from the state in the amount of 2,361 hryvnias.

Starting from January 1, 2028, persons who will have 40 or more calendar years of insurance experience will be able to retire on old age regardless of their actual age.

We advise Ukrainians to pay special attention to the fulfillment of all conditions and terms stipulated by law for each specific category of early retirement. First of all, it is necessary to register at the employment center in time after dismissal (as a rule, within 30 calendar days). If for objective reasons it was not possible to do this, it is important to have documents that confirm a good reason for missing the deadline, because in this case the extension of the registration deadline is allowed.

While being registered at the employment center, it is necessary to monitor that the employment service does not offer a suitable job within seven days. It is from this direction that the further possibility of applying to the Pension Fund for early retirement depends.

It is very important to collect all the necessary documents in advance, including the employment book, seniority certificates, dismissal orders, medical reports (if necessary), disability certificates, documents from the employment center, etc.

Also, you should not delay in submitting an application to the Pension Fund after the termination of the unemployed status, since it is from this moment that the appointment of an early pension begins.

The conditions for military personnel, participants in hostilities, persons with disabilities, parents of many children and other special categories should be taken into account especially carefully – for each of them there are separate rules regarding the retirement age and insurance length of service.

If you have any doubts about the right to early retirement, it is recommended to consult the Pension Fund of Ukraine or lawyers specializing in pension issues.