How Individual Entrepreneurs Can Confirm Their Insurance Record for a Pension in Ukraine
Entrepreneurship has always been a key factor in the economic development of society. In today’s environment, an increasing number of people choose self-employment and decide to start their own businesses.
However, this raises a number of issues related to the social protection of individual entrepreneurs, particularly with regard to their pension rights.
An insurance record is the period during which a person carries out certain types of employment or other qualifying activities and thereby acquires the right to receive a pension in the future.
For example, to qualify for an old-age pension at the age of 60 in 2024, a person was required to have at least 31 years of insurance record. For traditionally employed workers, confirming periods of employment is generally more straightforward, as employment records and other supporting documents may be used to establish the relevant periods of work.
For individual entrepreneurs, however, the situation may be more complicated due to the specific nature of their activities.
Under Ukrainian legislation, periods during which an individual engaged in entrepreneurial activity may be included in the relevant employment or insurance record provided that the payment of insurance contributions is confirmed by appropriate documents, such as payment orders, bank receipts, documents confirming postal transfers, or information from the Pension Fund of Ukraine regarding the payment of insurance contributions.
At the same time, periods of entrepreneurial activity under the simplified taxation system, fixed tax system, or special trade patent system may be confirmed by:
a) a certificate confirming payment of the single tax;
b) a special trade patent;
c) documents confirming payment of the single tax or fixed tax, or the purchase of a special trade patent, including payment orders, bank receipts, or documents confirming postal transfers, where available.
In addition, for the purpose of determining eligibility for a pension, the insurance record may include periods of entrepreneurial activity under the simplified taxation system or fixed tax system:
a) from 1 January 1998 to 30 June 2000, provided that a certificate confirming registration as an entrepreneur is submitted to the Pension Fund authorities;
b) from 1 July 2000 to 31 December 2017, provided that insurance contributions (the unified social contribution) were paid, regardless of the amount paid.
Therefore, when applying for a pension, individual entrepreneurs may need to submit a significant number of documents to the Pension Fund of Ukraine confirming their entrepreneurial activity and payment of the relevant contributions, including:
1) a certificate of registration as an entrepreneur;
2) certificates confirming payment of the single tax for each relevant year of entrepreneurial activity;
3) a special trade patent;
4) payment orders confirming payment of social contributions and the single tax.
At the same time, many entrepreneurs are unable to provide all of these documents. For example, bank receipts and payment orders confirming the payment of taxes and contributions may no longer be available. After many years have passed, restoring such documents can often be extremely difficult or even impossible.
Moreover, in the past, it was common practice for tax authorities to collect previous single-tax certificates from entrepreneurs when issuing new certificates. However, when entrepreneurs now request information from the tax authorities confirming the taxes they paid many years ago, they may discover that the statutory document retention period has expired and the authorities are therefore unable to provide the requested information.
Even where an entrepreneur manages to collect all the necessary documents, this does not always protect them from violations of their pension rights. In practice, the Pension Fund may still issue unlawful decisions refusing to grant a pension for formal or insufficiently substantiated reasons, even when the applicant has submitted the relevant supporting information.
The lawyers of the Pension Center have extensive experience handling cases involving pension applications and confirmation of insurance records for individual entrepreneurs, both through court proceedings and pre-trial procedures. Our specialists are always ready to assist you in protecting your right to a pension.
If you are looking for effective legal solutions, contact the Pension Center. We will help you resolve your pension-related issues and protect your pension rights.
