Years of work can be lost: what length of service will not be counted towards pension

Ukrainians who have work books with records of work in Russia should not expect this experience to be automatically included in their retirement years. The Pension Fund of Ukraine noted that the fact of working abroad is not a sufficient basis for taking this period into account when calculating the pension.

Oleksandr Maletsky, Deputy Chairman of the Pension Fund Board, emphasized that the main factor is the presence of an intergovernmental agreement on social security. It is on the basis of such agreements that it is determined whether Ukraine will recognize the experience gained in other countries. If there is no such agreement, then one should not count on the inclusion of experience from work abroad.

According to the official, entries in work books are not sufficient to take into account foreign experience. They can be taken into account only if a mechanism for mutual recognition of experience operates between the countries. Currently, Ukraine and Russia do not have such agreements, especially in the context of recent years.

Maletsky also noted that the period of work is important. In some cases, if the work activity dates back to the times when other legal norms or international agreements were in force, the situation can be considered individually. However, for most modern cases, the answer will be negative – the experience gained in Russia will not be counted.

This principle applies not only to Russia, but also to other states with which Ukraine does not have bilateral agreements on social security. For many migrant workers, this means the risk of losing part of the experience gained over many years.