Can Employment in France Be Counted Towards a Pension in Ukraine?
Applying for a pension usually requires collecting and submitting a substantial package of documents. Additional difficulties may arise where a future pensioner has worked not only in Ukraine but also abroad.
Foreign employment and insurance periods can be particularly important where a person does not have sufficient insurance record in Ukraine to qualify for a pension. Whether periods accumulated abroad can be taken into account generally depends on the international social security framework applicable between Ukraine and the country in which the person worked and on confirmation of those periods by the competent foreign institutions.
Many Ukrainians live and work in France, which makes questions concerning pension rights between Ukraine and France particularly relevant.
Can employment in France be counted towards a pension in Ukraine?
Recognition of French employment or insurance periods for the purpose of determining entitlement to a Ukrainian pension depends on whether the international social security arrangements applicable between Ukraine and France provide for aggregation or mutual recognition of such periods.
In the absence of an applicable social security agreement providing for such coordination, insurance periods accumulated in France cannot automatically be added to Ukrainian insurance periods for the purpose of establishing entitlement to a Ukrainian pension. Likewise, Ukrainian insurance periods cannot automatically be treated as French insurance periods for determining entitlement under the French pension system.
It is important to distinguish between recognition of foreign insurance periods and payment of an already granted Ukrainian pension to a person living abroad. These are separate legal issues.
Historically, Ukrainian pension legislation contained provisions that restricted continued pension payments to persons who permanently moved abroad where Ukraine did not have an applicable international agreement with the country of residence.
However, in Decision No. 25-rp/2009 of 7 October 2009, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine held that making the exercise of pension rights dependent on whether Ukraine had concluded an international agreement with the pensioner’s country of residence was inconsistent with constitutional guarantees.
The Constitutional Court’s position is particularly important because a person’s acquired right to a Ukrainian pension should not depend solely on whether they continue to reside in Ukraine or move permanently to another country.
Ukrainian courts have subsequently considered disputes concerning the suspension, resumption and payment of pensions to Ukrainian citizens permanently residing abroad. Judicial practice has recognised that permanent residence outside Ukraine should not, by itself, deprive a person of an already acquired pension right.
Therefore, a Ukrainian pensioner residing in France should distinguish between two different situations. The first concerns whether French insurance periods can be used to establish entitlement to a Ukrainian pension. The second concerns whether a pension already granted in Ukraine can continue to be paid while the pensioner resides in France.
The absence of an international social security mechanism for aggregating insurance periods may affect the first issue, but it does not automatically mean that a person loses an already granted Ukrainian pension merely because they live in France.
Persons who have worked in France should retain all available documents confirming their employment and participation in the French social security system. These may include information concerning employers, periods of employment, pension insurance contributions and official records issued by the competent French authorities.
When applying for a pension, it is necessary to verify the international social security framework actually applicable between Ukraine and France at that time. International agreements and domestic pension legislation may change, and the rules applicable to a particular pension case depend on the relevant periods of employment and the date of application.
Thus, recognition of French insurance periods in Ukraine and payment of a Ukrainian pension while residing in France are separate legal questions. The first depends on the applicable rules governing coordination of insurance periods between the two countries, while the second is also protected by Ukrainian constitutional principles concerning acquired pension rights.
