Preferential Pension for Casting Machine Foremen under List No. 1
Before retirement, most people try to determine whether they have sufficient insurance record to qualify for a pension, when they are entitled to submit their pension application, and what other requirements must be met. However, not everyone knows that the retirement age may also depend on the occupation in which the future pensioner worked.
Under Ukrainian legislation, in 2021 a person generally had to meet two criteria to qualify for an old-age pension: reach the age of 60 and have at least 28 years of insurance record. At the same time, there are certain occupations, often referred to as “listed occupations,” for which the law provides preferential retirement conditions, including a reduced retirement age. Such benefits are provided due to difficult and/or harmful working conditions.
These occupations include, among others, casting machine foremen. A casting machine foreman organizes the placement of ladles and the casting of pig iron on casting machines; ensures the scheduled delivery of hot-metal ladles for the discharge of pig iron; arranges the delivery of platforms to the casting machine for loading pig iron ingots and waste and the removal of loaded platforms; controls the quality of spraying moulds with lime solution and the proper filling of moulds with pig iron; and ensures the timely replacement of cracked moulds.
A casting machine foreman may qualify for retirement upon reaching the age of 50, provided that the required insurance record has been accumulated. Men generally need at least 25 years of total insurance record, including at least 10 years of employment in a qualifying occupation. Women generally need at least 20 years of total insurance record, including at least 7 years and 6 months of qualifying employment.
When applying for a preferential pension under the relevant list, one of the main issues is whether the period of employment will be recognised as preferential service. If an employment record book contains errors, additional entries or other irregularities, or if its entries do not make it possible to establish that the work qualifies under the relevant list, the Pension Fund of Ukraine may require an additional certificate from the employer or an archive.
In practice, however, the Pension Fund may sometimes require such an additional certificate even when the employment record book has been properly completed and contains sufficient information about the employee’s occupation and working conditions. If the applicant is unable to provide the requested certificate, the Pension Fund may refuse to grant the preferential pension.
Many similar disputes have been and continue to be considered by Ukrainian courts. Some of these cases have reached the Supreme Court. The courts have repeatedly emphasised that where the entries in an employment record book are sufficient to establish the preferential nature of the work, requiring additional employment certificates without proper grounds may be unlawful and may violate the pensioner’s rights.
Therefore, if the Pension Fund refuses to grant a pension, it is important to carefully analyse both the available documents and the grounds stated in the refusal. If the refusal is unlawful, it may be challenged in court and the person’s right to a preferential pension may be restored.
Moreover, where the court establishes that the pension should have been granted following the original application, pension payments may be calculated from the legally applicable date rather than merely from the date of the court judgment. This makes timely submission of the pension application and proper documentation particularly important.
