Is working abroad counted in the seniority?

Today, many Ukrainians work outside their homeland. This trend was common even before the full-scale invasion, but starting in 2022, it took on a massive scale, as several million Ukrainians fled abroad to escape the hostilities. Adapting to new places, people find employment there. Therefore, the question arises as to what to do with pensionable service and whether it is realistic that service abroad be taken into account in Ukraine.

The team of the "Prikhodko&Partners" law office is often approached with such requests. Therefore, we have a good practice in them and qualitatively help clients with requests that are at the intersection of migration and labor law.

What is important to know about pension provision in such cases?

Current legislation on pension provision is based, in particular, on international treaties in this area. They mean exactly those of them that were ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament. This principle is enshrined in Art. 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory State Pension Insurance".

As for the conditions of pension provision, it can be based on both the territorial and the proportional principle. In the first case, the cost of paying pensions is carried out by the state where the recipient lives. As for the proportional principle of pension accrual, under it each of the contracting parties assigns and pays a pension precisely for the length of service a person has based on the results of work in their territory.

What is the complexity of legal regulation of such issues at the legislative level?

Sometimes people try to figure out the issue of calculating pensions on their own. However, in each case, it is necessary to analyze the situation separately, since its legal regulation depends specifically on the norms of the agreement between Ukraine and the state where the person worked. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases, pensioners need to get quality advice and understand exactly what kind of pension they can count on and according to what principle. It is no less significant for those who have just received their first official job abroad and seek to understand what prospects await them in the context of pension provision.

What do you need to know about controversial situations?

It is important to understand: if there is no agreement on social and pension security between Ukraine and the state where the person applying for a pension worked, the prospects are sad. Unfortunately, neither seniority nor earnings earned in this country will be taken into account when determining a pension in Ukraine.

You should be aware of this, including when choosing the country where you want to immigrate. If it is about starting life from a clean slate and you do not have specific resources in the chosen country (family ties, real estate, business contacts), you should think about changing the choice of country, if there is no international agreement with it regarding the proportional principle of seniority.

Today, in view of the full-scale invasion, there are frequent cases when the period of work in the Russian Federation is not counted. But do not give up, because there are ways to solve this problem. To begin with, we are talking about the analysis of documents. And then it becomes urgent to apply to the court with a statement of claim.

Lawyers of the law office "Prikhodko&Partners" accompany this process and help their clients so that they do not feel hostage to the situation. Fill out the form on our website and we will contact you shortly.