Preferential Pension for Pitch Boilers under List No. 1

Preferential Pension for Pitch Boilers under List No. 1

Ukrainian pension legislation provides several types of pensions. As a general rule, an old-age pension is granted upon reaching the statutory retirement age and having the required insurance record. However, employees who have worked under particularly hazardous and difficult working conditions may be entitled to retire earlier.

One such option is a preferential old-age pension. Its main advantage is the possibility of retiring before the general retirement age. Eligibility depends primarily on whether the person was employed in work or an occupation included in the relevant statutory lists of hazardous and difficult jobs.

Ukrainian legislation provides for two principal categories – List No. 1 and List No. 2.

List No. 1 covers underground work and occupations involving particularly hazardous and particularly difficult working conditions.

List No. 2 covers occupations and jobs involving hazardous and difficult working conditions that do not fall within List No. 1.

This classification directly affects the conditions for early retirement. Employees covered by List No. 1 may generally qualify for retirement from the age of 50, provided that all statutory requirements concerning their total insurance record and preferential service have been satisfied.

List No. 1 includes numerous occupations in rolling, wheel-rolling, bandage-rolling, tinplate, tinning, galvanising and lead-coating production, as well as the production of rail fastenings, hot-metal scarfing and cleaning, heat treatment and calibrated metal production. One of the occupations included in this category is the pitch boiler.

A pitch boiler is responsible for carrying out the process of boiling pitch for rolling mills, loading raw materials into boilers and handling molten material. The worker also prepares plates for discharging finished pitch from boilers, cuts pitch into briquettes and stacks them after weighing. Other duties may include delivering materials to the pitch-boiling facility and transporting pitch to rolling mills.

As a general rule, the conditions for obtaining an early retirement pension for a pitch boiler under List No. 1 include:

- reaching the age of 50;

- for men – at least 25 years of total insurance record, including at least 10 years of qualifying preferential service; for women – at least 20 years of total insurance record, including at least 7 years and 6 months of qualifying preferential service.

In practice, however, obtaining a preferential pension is not always straightforward. One of the most common reasons for a refusal by the Pension Fund of Ukraine is the absence of proper workplace certification confirming hazardous working conditions. As a result, the Pension Fund may refuse to recognise the relevant employment period as preferential service and deny the worker an early retirement pension.

However, the absence or late completion of workplace certification does not automatically mean that the employee loses the right to a preferential pension. A worker should not bear responsibility for the employer’s failure to comply with its obligations concerning workplace certification. A refusal by the Pension Fund may therefore be challenged before an administrative court.

This approach is supported by the case law of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. In its decision of 19 February 2020 in case No. 520/15025/16-a, the Court concluded that responsibility for failure to conduct, or for the late conduct of, workplace certification rests with the employer rather than the employee. Consequently, such failure cannot in itself constitute grounds for refusing to grant an old-age pension on preferential terms.

Therefore, if the Pension Fund of Ukraine refuses to recognise your employment as a pitch boiler as preferential service or denies your application for an early retirement pension under List No. 1, such a decision may be challenged in court. A pension lawyer can assess your employment records, workplace certification documents and the Pension Fund’s decision and determine the appropriate legal strategy for protecting your pension rights.