Ukraine's Parliament Approves Law for Automatic Pension Enrollment

Reforms to Ukraine's Pension System

According to ХВИЛЯ: On April 9, 2026, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed draft law No. 13705-d in its second and final reading. This legislation fundamentally alters how citizens interact with the Pension Fund by introducing an automatic enrollment system. The reform obligates the Ukrainian Pension Fund (PFU) to proactively gather necessary data from state registries, a change enabled by amendments to Article 44 of Ukraine's 'Law on Mandatory State Pension Insurance'. This move is part of broader efforts to modernize the country's social safety net following years of conflict and economic disruption.

How Automatic Pension Assignment Will Work

Under the new law, the Pension Fund is required to extract data from:

• The State Register of Mandatory State Social Insurance;
• The State Register of Individual Taxpayers;
• The Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs.

This data-sharing mandate is designed to streamline the pension application process for citizens. The law also clarifies the rules for confirming insurance periods before July 1, 2000. Notably, work periods will be counted toward pension eligibility even if an employer accrued but failed to pay the unified social contribution, provided the relevant reporting was filed.

Furthermore, the law amends Ukraine's Civil Procedure Code to establish a simplified judicial procedure for verifying employment history. This streamlined process specifically assists war veterans, workers from occupied territories, and individuals whose businesses were destroyed, facilitating their access to pension benefits.

The legislation also provides alternative methods for confirming work history when an official employment record book is unavailable. Acceptable documentation now includes:

• Copies of employment orders;
• Personal salary accounts;
• Payroll records;
• Written labor contracts and agreements;
• Bank transaction data;
• Testimony from at least two witnesses;
• Relevant court decisions.

These provisions aim to make the pension system more transparent and accessible for Ukrainian citizens.

The adoption of this law represents a significant step in reforming Ukraine's pension framework. Its primary goals are to simplify procedures and improve access to pensions for various citizen groups. By implementing automatic enrollment, the reform seeks to reduce bureaucratic barriers, allowing Ukrainians to receive their entitled payments more quickly and with less hassle. These changes are expected to positively impact the country's social welfare landscape by ensuring support reaches those in need.

While the newly approved law aims to simplify the pension enrollment process, it is essential for current pensioners to understand that recalculation of benefits may still require individual applications. This distinction highlights the ongoing complexities within the pension system, even as automatic enrollment is set to reshape future interactions with the Pension Fund.