Can You Retire Before the Age of 60 in Ukraine?

Many people eventually begin to consider when they will be able to retire. Under Ukrainian legislation, entitlement to an ordinary old-age pension generally depends on reaching the statutory retirement age and having the required insurance record. However, is it possible to receive an old-age pension before reaching the age of 60?

Of course, there are preferential pensions that allow certain categories of people to retire earlier because of the nature of their work or other circumstances established by law. However, there have also been legal mechanisms allowing a person to receive an ordinary old-age pension up to one and a half years before reaching the statutory retirement age.

Previously, Article 21 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Basic Principles of Social Protection of Labour Veterans and Other Elderly Citizens in Ukraine” provided for the possibility of early retirement one and a half years before the statutory retirement age in certain circumstances.

This provision applied where an employee’s employment contract was terminated, within one and a half years before reaching retirement age, at the initiative of the employer or an authorised body due to changes in the organisation of production and labour. Such circumstances included liquidation, reorganisation or restructuring of an enterprise, institution or organisation, as well as staff or workforce reductions.

The provision also covered certain cases where an employee was found to be unable to continue performing their position because of their state of health.

At the same time, the person was required to have the minimum insurance record necessary for the relevant old-age pension.

However, from 1 January 2015, Article 21 was removed from the legislation pursuant to Law of Ukraine No. 76-VIII of 28 December 2014.

The situation subsequently changed following the intervention of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.

In its Decision No. 5-r/2018 of 22 May 2018, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the legislative provisions that had abolished this early-retirement guarantee.

The Constitutional Court noted that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine had abolished a social guarantee for elderly citizens allowing them to retire early, even though that guarantee had been intended to facilitate the effective exercise of the constitutional rights to social protection and an adequate standard of living.

Despite the Constitutional Court’s decision, disputes continued to arise because the relevant legislative mechanism had not been fully restored or regulated in practice.

The Pension Fund therefore continued, in certain cases, to refuse applications for early retirement on the basis that the legislation did not contain an effective procedure for implementing the former Article 21.

However, the absence of a detailed administrative mechanism does not necessarily mean that a person may be deprived of a social guarantee protected by a binding decision of the Constitutional Court.

In disputes arising under the legal framework considered in this article, applicants challenged such refusals before the courts. The courts developed an approach according to which the absence of a mechanism for granting the pension could not, by itself, deprive an individual of the guarantees protected by Article 21 and the Constitutional Court’s decision.

Accordingly, where the Pension Fund refused to recognise the right to early retirement despite the applicant satisfying the relevant statutory conditions, such a refusal could be challenged before an administrative court.

Please note: this article describes the legislation and judicial practice that developed following Decision No. 5-r/2018 of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. Ukrainian pension legislation has subsequently changed, including the regulation of early retirement for persons whose employment is terminated shortly before reaching retirement age. Therefore, eligibility for retirement before the age of 60 should be assessed under the legislation currently in force and on the basis of the individual circumstances of the applicant.