TRANSITION TO THE PENSION OF THE CIVIL SERVANT

Retirement of a civil servant – topical issues

As usual, every change in the legislation on the pension provision of civil servants causes a number of disputes. There will be no exception to this not-so-good tradition and the innovation of Law № 2040 of February 15, 2022 (entered into force on April 30, 2022) regarding the recalculation (indexation) of pensions previously assigned to civil servants on March 1 of each year.

However, disputes surrounding the violation of this regulatory act are still ahead. And for several years in a row there have been disputes over the transition from an old-age pension to a civil servant’s pension. To understand this issue, we offer you an explanation from the specialists of the legal company “Prikhodko&Partners”. In case you need individual assistance, representation in the bodies of the Pension Fund and/or support of the court proceedings, please contact us, we will prepare effective solutions for you.

Who has the right to transfer to the pension of a civil servant?

On May 1, 2016, Law № 889-VIII “On Civil Service” dated December 10, 2015 entered into force. Article 90 states: pension provision of civil servants is carried out according to Law № 1058 “On mandatory state pension insurance” dated 07/09/2003, i.e. on a general basis.

Instead, the Final and Transitional Provisions of Law № 889-VIII contain norms regarding the categories of persons who retain the right to a pension under the “old” law on civil service. It is about the possibility of assigning a pension of 60% of the amount of salary, including all types of remuneration, from which the EUV was paid, of a working civil servant of the corresponding position and rank.

Article 37 of the “old” law on civil service

According to paragraphs 10 and 12 of the Final Provisions of Law № 889-VIII, as well as Cabinet Resolution № 469 “On Amendments to the Procedure for Assigning Pensions to Certain Categories of Persons” dated 06.05.2019 (effective from 01.01.2020), the right to a pension in accordance with Article 37 of the Law № 3723-XII “On Civil Service” dated December 16, 1993 is kept under the following circumstances:

• at the time of entry into force of Law № 889-VIII, the person held a civil service position and had at least 10 years of civil service experience;
• a person has at least 20 years of civil service experience, regardless of the place of work, at the time of reaching retirement age.

***Note 1: Persons who, at the time of entry into force of Law № 889-VIII, held civil service positions, but resigned before the entry into force of Cabinet Resolution № 469, are entitled to a civil servant pension.

***Note 2: Positions and bodies, the period of work in which is counted towards the corresponding length of service, are defined in the Procedure for calculating the length of civil service, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution № 229 dated 03.25.2016.

Among the mandatory conditions for the transition to the pension of a civil servant: a) reaching the retirement age; b) the presence of the insurance experience prescribed in Law № 1058. A pension for civil servants is granted from the moment of application, but not before the right to it has arisen.

Challenging actions (inaction) of officials of the Pension Fund bodies

Despite the certainty of the circumstances of the transition to a civil servant’s pension, in practice, in numerous cases, the bodies of the Pension Fund refuse pensioners to make such a transition. Most refusals are illegal. Instead, you can appeal the actions (inaction) of officials of the Pension Fund bodies in two ways:

• in a pre-trial procedure through an appeal with a written statement to a higher subordinate body, for example – for a territorial body, this is the main office of the Pension Fund in the relevant region;
• in the judicial procedure by filing a lawsuit in the administrative court, if necessary – an appeal in the court of higher instance.

To attention! Usually, pension lawyers of the law firm “Prikhodko&Partners” consider both algorithms for achieving the necessary goal. However, based on our practice, actions through the court are more effective. And in order not to waste time, we offer clients assistance in collecting the necessary documents for the lawsuit and representation of the plaintiff’s interests during the court proceedings.

Lawsuits regarding the transfer from the old-age pension to the civil servant’s pension

In most cases, the Pension Fund authorities deny applicants the transfer of a civil servant to a pension due to failure to provide certain documents to confirm civil service experience or failure to include certain periods of time in the relevant experience.

Along with the application to the Pension Fund body for the transfer of a civil servant to a pension, a certificate/certificates on the components of wages are submitted. Such certificates are issued by the bodies where the person completed civil service and contain the following information:

• about salary;
• about allowances for rank and length of service, bonuses, material assistance and other payments, for which the EUV was accrued.

In the case of a competently constructed legal position of the plaintiff, the court agrees with the statements regarding the illegal inaction of the defendant – not taking into account the content of the certificate on the components of the salary for the civil servant’s pension. The court obliges the defendant (Pension Fund body) to take the necessary actions for the person to receive a civil servant’s pension.

To attention! The protection of citizens’ interests in lawsuits regarding the transition from a disability pension to a civil servant’s disability pension is distinguished by its specific nuances. After all, the legislation does not link the accrual of a disability pension with reaching a certain specified age. And therefore, the legal position should be built on approaches different from those used in cases of transition from old-age pension.

In general, the current judicial practice shows that when applying to the court, the plaintiff, in the presence of a well-founded position, has a high chance of obtaining the desired decision regarding the transition to the pension of a civil servant. Get in touch – specialists of the law firm “Prikhodko&Partners” will help you achieve this goal.