Recognition of Russian Employment Record for Pension Purposes in Ukraine
Ms. Natalia Zrazhevska contacted us after the Pension Fund of Ukraine refused to include a period of employment in the Russian Federation, recorded in her employment record book, when considering her application for a pension. The Pension Fund referred to the fact that, as of 1 January 2023, the Russian Federation had ceased its participation in the Agreement on Guarantees of the Rights of Citizens of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the Field of Pension Provision dated 13 March 1992, which had provided a legal framework for recognizing periods of employment acquired in the participating states.
We challenged this decision in court. Our position was that, during the period when Ms. Natalia worked in the Russian Federation, international agreements governing pension and social security matters between Ukraine and the Russian Federation were in force, which provided legal grounds for taking the relevant employment periods into account. Therefore, the issue of recognizing periods of employment in the Russian Federation after 1 January 1991 for pension purposes in Ukraine had to be assessed in accordance with the international agreements applicable to the relevant periods.
An analysis of the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation “On Employment and Social Protection of Citizens of Ukraine and Russia Working Outside the Borders of Their Countries” and the Agreement “On Cooperation in the Field of Labor Migration and Social Protection of Migrant Workers” supported the conclusion that employment history was to be calculated in accordance with the legislation of the state in whose territory the employment was performed, while preferential service acquired in one of the states could be recognized by the other state in accordance with the applicable rules.
Accordingly, when determining whether Ms. Natalia was entitled to an old-age pension, the pension authority had to take into account the relevant employment history acquired by the claimant in the territories of the states covered by the applicable international agreements, including the Russian Federation.
As stated in the legal position of the Supreme Court in its judgment dated 19 June 2018 in case No. 820/5348/17, a process for exercising a right that has already commenced should, as a general rule, be completed under the legislation that was in force when that process began, unless the law itself establishes a different procedure. This approach is consistent with the principle of legal certainty.
Therefore, since the claimant had worked in the Russian Federation during the period when the relevant international agreements were in force, we argued that the subsequent termination of those agreements did not in itself provide sufficient grounds for refusing to recognize the disputed period of employment.
Having considered the circumstances of the case, the court concluded that, including in view of the circumstances arising from the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and the resulting disruption of cooperation between the authorities of the two states, the Pension Fund could not refuse to include the claimant’s employment period in the Russian Federation in her pensionable service solely on that basis.
In addition, another period of Ms. Natalia’s employment had not been included in her insurance record because, according to the Register of Insured Persons of the State Register of Compulsory State Social Insurance, there was no information confirming the payment of insurance contributions for that period.
It should be noted that periods of employment and other periods that were included in a person’s employment record for pension purposes before the Law of Ukraine “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance” entered into force, namely before 1 January 2004, are generally taken into account for insurance record purposes in accordance with the procedure and conditions established by the legislation previously in force, subject to the exceptions provided by law.
Before 1 January 2004, pensionable service was primarily determined on the basis of periods of employment. Accordingly, periods of official employment before 1 January 2004 that are properly confirmed by entries in an employment record book may be included in the insurance record in accordance with the legislation applicable to those periods.
Considering the above, we argued that the Pension Fund had no sufficient legal grounds to exclude the disputed employment periods and that there were grounds for the court to order their inclusion in the claimant’s insurance record.
After examining all the documents and materials of the case, establishing the relevant factual circumstances and assessing the evidence necessary to resolve the dispute, the court concluded that Ms. Zrazhevska’s claims were substantiated and should be granted.
If you are also facing difficulties with the recognition of employment history acquired in the Russian Federation when applying for a pension in Ukraine, or if the Pension Fund refuses to recognize periods of employment before 2004 because of the absence of information about insurance contributions, contact the specialists of the Pension Center. Our pension lawyers can analyze the Pension Fund’s refusal, assess the available evidence and, where appropriate, challenge the decision in court.
