Since the beginning of the full-scale war, millions of Ukrainians have left abroad – some temporarily, some for years, and some have already integrated into the new country. Some of them work officially, pay taxes, issue social insurance and live in the full legal field of the European Union. However, with every passing year, a question that until recently seemed remote and theoretical arises more and more often: what will happen to work experience acquired outside of Ukraine? Will it count when calculating the pension? If so, to what extent, under what conditions?
The editors of IA “FACT” turned to the lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” bar association to find out under what conditions the work experience gained in EU countries and other states can be officially credited in Ukraine, what is needed for this, which documents to refer to and how to avoid a bureaucratic impasse.
According to various data, from 5 to almost 11 million Ukrainians are currently abroad. Of course, during the fourth year of the full-scale war, many of them not only received education in foreign educational institutions, confirmed the diplomas received in the Motherland, but also successfully work on the territory of foreign countries, which hospitably received our compatriots who sought refuge from hostilities.
However, not all Ukrainians have the desire to remain abroad after the return of their native country to a peaceful life. In turn, the state is also thinking about returning its citizens home, developing various incentive mechanisms. As part of such an initiative, on May 16, 2025, the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “Some issues of calculating insurance length of service” was adopted, according to which Ukrainians have the opportunity to count the period of official work abroad as insurance length of service for the purpose of determining an old-age pension. This is a revolutionary innovation in the current legislation. It is clear that currently the mechanism is not fully developed, but in general it is a big step not only towards European integration, but also towards the protection of citizens’ rights and their social security.
This document includes two directions. The first is the procedure for confirming and including the periods of work of a person in another state to the insurance length of service (length of service) to determine the right to an old-age pension. The main condition for such confirmation is the inclusion of the work period in the insurance length of service (work length) in accordance with the legislation of the relevant state where the Ukrainian worked. The issue of insurance length of service is regulated by the adopted resolution in relation to foreign states with which Ukraine has not concluded an international agreement, the consent of which is binding on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
This regulatory document stipulates that persons who worked in other countries and who do not have the required insurance experience, defined in parts one to three of Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance”, attach to the pension application the supporting documents issued on the territory of a foreign state. At the same time, the documents that must be provided in Ukraine do not have a clear definition or list – they are any documents in the form of certificates, statements, etc., issued by another state, which confirm the inclusion of periods of work in such a state of a citizen of Ukraine to the insurance length (length of work) during the appointment of a pension in accordance with the legislation of the relevant state.
If, according to the content of the documents, it is not possible to confirm the inclusion of the periods of work in another state to the insurance length of service (length of service) in accordance with the legislation of the relevant state or if the person did not submit supporting documents for any reason, the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine within five working days after receiving the application from the citizen for the appointment of a pension with all the necessary documents submits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a request to send it through diplomatic channels to another state and to the body providing pension provision in another state the state to obtain supporting documents. At the same time, if it is not possible to exchange information between the territorial bodies of the Pension Fund of Ukraine and the bodies providing pension provision in other states, the request is sent after the possibility of exchange appears.
It should be noted that supporting documents are recognized as valid in Ukraine in the presence of legalization in accordance with the legislation, unless otherwise stipulated by international treaties of Ukraine. After the territorial body of the PFU receives the supporting documents, the periods of work indicated in them are included in the insurance length (length of work) of the person in the calendar calculation to determine the right to the appointment of an old-age pension in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance”. At the same time, periods of work of persons in another state with which Ukraine has concluded an international agreement are included in the insurance experience of persons living in Ukraine under the terms of such an international agreement.
The second direction, which is regulated by the aforementioned Government Resolution, is the confirmation of non-payment by another state of pension payments to persons living in Ukraine for the periods of employment before January 1, 1992. outside of Ukraine in the republics of the former Union of the SSR in order to include them in the insurance record. As we understand, many citizens of their time, who are currently entitled to an old-age pension, worked in the territory of the SSR Union. In connection with the military actions of the Russian Federation and the severance of legal ties, it is currently difficult, and sometimes impossible, to obtain any official information from the territory of the aggressor state.
The resolution applies to the states from among the republics of the former Union of the SSR, which include the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Kazakh SSR, the Kyrgyz SSR, the Latvian SSR, the Lithuanian SSR, the Moldavian SSR, the Russian Russian SSR, the Tajik SSR, the Turkmen SSR, the Uzbek SSR, and the Estonian SSR. In the event that the documents submitted by a person to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine for the appointment of a pension indicate the periods of work before January 1, 1992. outside of Ukraine in the listed republics of the former Union of the SSR, in the application for the appointment of a pension, such a person indicates the information that he receives or does not receive pension payments in such states.
If in the application for the appointment of a pension, a person has indicated the information that he does not receive pension payments in another state, the person shall attach to the application for the appointment of a pension documents issued by the bodies providing pension provision in another state, which confirm the fact that they do not receive such payments. In the absence of documents about the non-receipt of pension payments in another state, the person notes the reasons for the impossibility of receiving them and can turn to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine for help in submitting a request to another state regarding the relevant documents.
Until the receipt of relevant documents about the person’s non-receipt of pension in another state to the territorial body of the PFU, the person’s pension is calculated without taking into account the periods of work before January 1, 1992. outside of Ukraine in the republics of the former Union of the SSR, except in cases where there is no possibility of exchange of information between the pension security authorities of Ukraine and the pension security authorities of another state and documentary confirmation of non-payment of pension payments by another state for the specified periods.
If there is an international agreement concluded, the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine, within five working days from the date of the person’s submission of the pension application, sends to the body providing pension provision in another state a request for confirmation of non-payment of pension payments to a person living in Ukraine for the periods of employment until January 1, 1992. outside Ukraine in the republics of the former Union of the SSR, and in the absence of an international agreement, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a request for the transfer of a pension provision authority in another state, a request for confirmation of non-payment of pension payments in another state.
If it is not possible to exchange information between the territorial body of the PFU and the bodies providing pension provision in another state (international cooperation between the pension provision authorities of Ukraine and the pension provision authorities of another state has not been established or no response has been received to the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within 45 days from the date of its sending to the other state and the authority providing pension provision in another state), until the possibility of such an exchange appears/receipt of confirmation documents of non-implementation by another state of pension payments to a person living in Ukraine for the periods of employment until January 1, 1992. outside of Ukraine in the republics of the former Union of the SSR, a person’s pension is calculated taking into account periods of work in the republics of the former Union of the SSR. In this case, in the application for the appointment of a pension, the person notes the information that he does not receive pension payments in the relevant state and cannot document the non-implementation of pension payments by 3 other states for the specified periods.
After receiving a response to the request from another state, the assigned pension is recalculated, taking into account the deadlines established by law for submitting documents on the assignment (recalculation) of the pension. Documents issued by bodies providing pension provision in another state are recognized as valid in Ukraine if they are legalized in accordance with legislation, unless otherwise stipulated by international treaties of Ukraine.
It is worth knowing that periods of shift work, as well as periods of business trips before January 1, 1992. in the republics of the former Union of the SSR, employees who were registered for work at enterprises, institutions, organizations located in Ukraine are not considered periods of work on the territory of other states.
In connection with the mentioned changes, the Pension Fund of Ukraine was obliged to ensure the review of the decisions made by the territorial bodies of the Pension Fund of Ukraine for the period from the date of entry into force of the Law of Ukraine of April 25, 2024 “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Regulation of the Calculation of Insurance Service and Pension Benefits” (June 23, 2024) until the date of entry into force of this resolution (May 20, 2025 year), in relation to persons who worked before January 1, 1992. outside Ukraine in the republics of the former Union of the SSR, regarding the appointment of a pension in the part of taking into account the insurance experience for the periods of work before January 1, 1992. outside Ukraine in the republics of the former Union of the SSR, taking into account the provisions of the procedures approved by this resolution.
In connection with the mentioned changes, we recommend that all citizens take a responsible approach to their future and take care now to obtain documents confirming your official employment on the territory of a foreign country. Whether you will need them in the future or not is another question, but you can never have too many documents. This especially applies to those citizens who have already repeatedly changed their country of residence or plan to do so in the future. It is now easier to get the same certificate in Canada, Belgium or the USA in person at the time of completion of work before moving, than later from the territory of Ukraine.
