The Cabinet of Ministers has resolved the issue of including periods of work abroad for the purpose of assigning an old-age pension
In recent decades, millions of Ukrainians have sought employment opportunities outside their country. Since the 1990s, and especially after 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Russia in 2022, labor migration has turned into a socio-economic phenomenon that covers all regions of Ukraine. According to estimates from various sources, from 2 to 4 million Ukrainians work permanently or temporarily in the countries of the European Union alone. Their contribution to the economy is not only money earned abroad, which comes in the form of remittances, but also keeping families alive, supporting children’s education, medical treatment, paying for housing and taxes, which they often continue to pay at home.
Government breakthrough: work experience abroad now counts
For a long time, the official work of Ukrainians abroad, especially in countries with which international agreements on social security were not signed, remained “invisible” to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. This created a significant injustice – people who worked honestly lost their right to a pension because their seniority was not recognized. This was especially acutely felt by those who returned to Ukraine after decades of law-abiding work outside the country.
On May 19, 2025, the Government of Ukraine approved decision, which radically changes the situation. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a new procedure that allows to include periods of official work abroad in the pensionable service, regardless of whether Ukraine has an international agreement with the relevant country. This was reported by the Ministry of National Unity of Ukraine with reference to the relevant resolution.
From now on, seniority acquired outside of Ukraine is recognized on the basis of official documents issued in the host country. These can be employment contracts, extracts from the register of contributors to the pension system, certificates from tax authorities or other official documents confirming the fact of employment. If a person cannot provide such documents, the Pension Fund of Ukraine will contact the competent institutions of a foreign country through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a request to confirm the specified information.
Explanation of ministers: fairness and recognition of the contribution of wage earners
Oleksiy Chernyshov, Minister of National Unity of Ukraine, emphasized that this decision is of fundamental importance for the formation of a fair pension system. According to him, millions of Ukrainians worked abroad for years without losing touch with the Motherland. Many of them have already returned, others are planning to do so. Including periods of work in other countries in the total pensionable service is recognition of their contribution and a guarantee of old age.
The Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Oksana Zholnovych, emphasized in her comment: the new order is a response to society’s request and modern challenges. Ukrainians who work or have worked abroad should no longer feel alienated from the pension system. According to Zholnovich, the government’s goal is to make the pension system fair and pensions decent. That is why, she noted, the Cabinet of Ministers took an important step, which allows to take into account working periods not only within the framework of current international agreements, but also beyond such legal frameworks.
Countries without agreements are no longer an obstacle
Until now, the problem was that Ukraine recognized seniority acquired abroad only in the presence of a bilateral agreement. Such documents have been concluded, for example, with Germany, Poland, Canada, Spain, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. But hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians work in countries where such agreements did not exist — in particular, in Italy, Greece, Turkey, the USA, and Israel. For them, the new order is a real chance to receive an old-age pension without losing the accumulated experience and contributions to other people’s pension systems.
The government’s decision also has geopolitical significance. It demonstrates the desire of the Ukrainian state to maintain contact with its own citizens, even if they are abroad for a long time. It is also an important step on the way to the gradual integration of Ukraine’s social systems with European models, where labor mobility and mutual recognition of seniority are the norm.
The government’s new decision is a fundamental recognition that millions of Ukrainians abroad remain part of the national social body. Their work is a contribution to the stability of the Ukrainian economy and demography. Despite all the challenges of wartime, the state demonstrates its readiness to adapt to reality: mobile labor resources, mass migration, international work are part of the modern Ukrainian experience, and the pension system must take this into account.
