Can Employment in Georgia Be Counted Towards a Pension in Ukraine?
Thousands of Ukrainians have worked or continue to work abroad. Some eventually return to Ukraine, while others remain abroad for many years. When planning employment in another country, however, people do not always consider how foreign employment may affect their future pension rights. This raises an important question: can years worked abroad be counted towards a pension in Ukraine?
Entitlement to an old-age pension in Ukraine depends on reaching the statutory retirement age and having the required insurance record. Therefore, foreign employment periods may become particularly important where a person does not have sufficient insurance record accumulated exclusively in Ukraine.
Whether employment or insurance periods accumulated abroad can be taken into account depends on the applicable international social security framework between Ukraine and the country in which the person worked.
International pension agreements may generally be based on two principal models:
1. Territorial principle. Under this model, pension provision is generally determined by the country in which the pensioner resides, while qualifying periods accumulated in another contracting state may be taken into account in accordance with the relevant international agreement.
2. Proportional principle. Under this model, each contracting state generally calculates and pays the part of the pension corresponding to the insurance periods accumulated under its own legislation. At the same time, periods accumulated in the other country may be aggregated for the purpose of determining whether the person qualifies for a pension.
Pension relations between Ukraine and Georgia have historically been governed by the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Georgia on Cooperation in the Field of Pension Provision.
The international framework established between Ukraine and Georgia was based largely on the territorial principle. Under this approach, qualifying employment periods accumulated in both contracting states could be taken into account when determining a person’s pension entitlement in the country responsible for granting the pension.
Accordingly, employment periods accumulated in Georgia may be relevant when a person subsequently applies for a pension in Ukraine. However, the precise rules depend on the period during which the employment took place, the type of pension concerned and the international pension framework applicable at the time of the pension application.
Separate rules may apply to disability pensions and survivor’s pensions, particularly where entitlement arises from an occupational injury or occupational disease. Depending on the circumstances and the applicable international provisions, responsibility for granting and paying the relevant benefit may be connected with the state in whose territory the occupational injury occurred or the occupational disease arose.
Confirmation of foreign employment is an important part of the pension application procedure. A person seeking recognition of periods worked in Georgia should retain and, where required, submit documents confirming their employment and insurance history.
Such documents may include an employment record book, certificates issued by former employers or archives, information concerning employment periods and other official documents confirming that the person was lawfully employed during the relevant period.
Where the information available to the applicant is insufficient, the competent authorities may use the procedures provided by the applicable international framework to request confirmation from the relevant authorities of the other country.
It is particularly important that foreign employment periods be properly documented. The mere fact that a person physically worked in Georgia does not necessarily establish an insurance period for pension purposes. The legal nature of the employment, the period during which it was performed and the documents confirming it must be assessed under the applicable pension rules.
Thus, employment accumulated in Georgia may affect a person’s pension rights in Ukraine. When applying for a Ukrainian pension, it is necessary to determine which international social security rules apply to the relevant periods of Georgian employment and to obtain appropriate confirmation of those periods.
