The Ukrainian government approved new rules for accounting Soviet work experience for pension appointments. They refer to the period of work until January 1992 in the republics of the former USSR. This is reported by Novyny.LIVE.
Starting in 2023, Ukraine, like Russia, has exited the agreement on mutual pension provision for citizens of the former USSR. This decision necessitated the adoption of a new mechanism that allows for the consideration of Soviet work experience in the presence of documents, even if they were issued in other countries.
New Rules for Those with Soviet Work Experience
According to the Cabinet of Ministers' decisions, several key rules will now apply when appointing pensions:
- if another state, for example, Russia or Belarus, did not pay a pension for the Soviet period, these years will be credited to the work experience in Ukraine;
- you need to provide documents confirming work in any republic of the former USSR until January 1992;
- the documents must be officially certified to avoid double accounting or errors.
How to Confirm Lost or Inaccurate Work Experience
The new regulations will be particularly relevant for those who have lost their work book or have entries with inaccuracies. In such cases, the Pension Fund allows confirming experience in other ways. Among them:
- data from the register of insured persons of the State Register of Social Insurance;
- certificates or extracts from the archives of enterprises, institutions, or organizations;
- information about salary, personal accounts;
- trade union tickets, labor contracts, certificates, or characteristics that contain information about work.
What to Do If the Enterprise Was in an Occupied Territory
The Pension Fund clarifies that even if there is a work book, but it contains corrections or inaccurate entries, its data can be confirmed through special commissions for confirming work experience. This especially applies to those who worked in enterprises in Crimea, Donetsk, or Luhansk regions – areas where access to archives is currently complicated.
«If the entries in the work book raise doubts, or the enterprise is located in a temporarily occupied territory, the work experience is confirmed by the decision of the Pension Fund commission,» the agency stated.
The new rules are designed to simplify the process and ensure that Ukrainians who worked during the Soviet era can receive a fair pension. At the same time, the government emphasizes that all confirmations of experience must be documented to avoid abuses and double payments.
Previously, we reported that a mother who cared for sick children up to six years old without disabilities can receive a pension earlier – after 50 years and 15 years of insurance experience. This is provided for by Ukrainian legislation.