Can Employment in Italy Be Counted Towards a Pension in Ukraine?
Since the early 2000s, the Ukrainian community in Italy has become one of the country’s significant foreign communities. Many Ukrainians live and work in Italy for years, while some eventually decide to return to Ukraine.
For those returning home after many years of employment abroad, pension entitlement becomes an important issue. If a person has worked in Italy for a significant part of their career, or even for most of their working life, can those periods of employment be taken into account when applying for a pension in Ukraine? To answer this question, it is necessary to determine whether an applicable international social security agreement exists between Ukraine and Italy.
The recognition of insurance periods accumulated in Italy for the purpose of granting a pension in Ukraine depends on the international social security arrangements applicable between Ukraine and Italy. In the absence of an agreement providing for the aggregation or mutual recognition of insurance periods, employment in Italy is not automatically included in the Ukrainian insurance record.
The issue of recognising pension and insurance periods accumulated by Ukrainians working in Italy has been raised repeatedly over the years. For a person who has worked in both countries, it is therefore particularly important to determine which periods can be recognised under Ukrainian legislation and the international rules applicable at the time of the pension application.
A separate issue concerns the taxation of pensions received by persons residing in one country while receiving pension income connected with the other. Ukraine and Italy have concluded a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.
The Convention contains specific rules governing the taxation of pensions and other similar remuneration paid in consideration of past employment. Therefore, Ukrainians receiving a pension while residing in Italy should distinguish between two separate legal matters: recognition of foreign insurance periods for establishing pension entitlement and taxation of pension income under the applicable double taxation rules.
If you have worked in Italy and intend to apply for a pension in Ukraine, it is advisable to check in advance whether your Italian employment and insurance periods can be recognised, what documents are required to confirm them and which international rules are applicable at the time of your application.
