In today’s conditions, when thousands of Ukrainians are forced to look for employment opportunities abroad, there is increasing concern about the future of pension provision. This especially applies to those who are forced to leave the country due to hostilities. Refugees who work outside of Ukraine are often worried about whether their experience gained in foreign companies will be taken into account when calculating their pension at home. In the conditions of a rapid increase in the requirements for insurance experience to receive pension payments, this issue is becoming especially urgent. The answer to it became possible thanks to recent changes in legislation and concluded international agreements regulating the issue of calculating the insurance period.
Legislation on calculation of length of service
In April of last year, Ukraine adopted a law that made changes to a number of regulatory acts, in particular to the provisions related to the calculation of insurance length of service and pension provision. Thanks to this document, it became possible to take into account periods of work outside the country. According to the law, for citizens of Ukraine who worked abroad, these periods can be included in the total insurance experience – and even on preferential terms, if this is provided for by both domestic legislation and international agreements.
The Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance” was amended by introducing Article 24-1, according to which periods of work outside Ukraine are included in the total insurance experience of persons living in Ukraine, including periods under preferential conditions, if this is provided for by the law itself or international agreements of Ukraine, the bindingness of which has been approved by the Verkhovna Rada.
At the same time, the periods of labor activity before January 1, 1992, spent outside Ukraine in the states of the former Union of the SSR, are also included in the insurance period (including under preferential conditions) for persons living in Ukraine, provided that another state does not provide pension payments for these periods.
In the event that there is no exchange of information between the pension authorities of Ukraine and the relevant institutions of another state, and it is impossible to document that the pension payments for the specified periods are not made by another country, the citizen must indicate this information in the application to the Pension Fund regarding the appointment, renewal or extension of the pension payment.
As point out in PFU, the Innovations relate to that part of the legislation that regulates the system of mandatory state pension insurance. The changes introduced by Article 24-1 allow to take into account the periods of labor activity abroad as part of the insurance experience. This is of crucial importance for those who have been working outside of Ukraine for a long time – regardless of whether it was temporary employment or permanent work. It is important that the enrollment of seniority is possible for persons living in Ukraine, subject to compliance with the requirements of the law and the availability of relevant international agreements.
International agreements and their meaning
Ukraine has a number of international agreements that regulate mutual recognition of work experience. In particular, documents issued by the competent authorities of foreign countries for citizens of Ukraine may be taken into account provided they are legalized. Also, if the documents are written in a foreign language, they must be submitted together with translations certified in the prescribed manner. This allows for proper verification and recognition of the received data in the Pension Fund of Ukraine.
Among the countries with which Ukraine has relevant agreements are Estonia, Bulgaria, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan. In addition, there are agreements with the countries that were part of the former Soviet Union: the Mongolian People’s Republic, Romania and Hungary. Thanks to these agreements, Ukrainian citizens can be sure that their work experience gained abroad will be recognized for pension calculation.
Procedure for filing documents
In order for documents confirming periods of work abroad to be accepted by the Pension Fund of Ukraine, certain procedures must be followed. In particular, such documents must be legalized in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation. If the documents are written in a foreign language, they must be accompanied by official translations into Ukrainian, certified by the relevant institutions. These requirements help to avoid errors in the preparation of documents and ensure the correct enrollment of insurance experience.
Legislation regarding the calculation of insurance experience is of great importance for those who work abroad, in particular for Ukrainian refugees who are looking for employment opportunities outside their home country. The presence of international agreements and a clearly regulated procedure for the preparation of documents allows for fair consideration of all periods of work, which has a positive effect on the calculation of pension payments. Due to the ever-increasing requirements for insurance experience, it is important that every citizen knows their rights and follows all the necessary procedures to ensure their future pension security.
