Pension Rights When Moving Between Ukraine and Turkmenistan

Life can be unpredictable, and it is difficult to know what circumstances we may face in five, ten or twenty years. Sometimes, for objective reasons, a person may have to leave their country of residence and move elsewhere. Such a decision can be particularly difficult at retirement age, not only because relocation itself may be challenging, but also because a pension is often a pensioner’s main or only source of income. This raises an important question: what happens to pension rights when a person moves between Ukraine and Turkmenistan?

Pension relations between Ukraine and Turkmenistan have historically been governed by the Agreement on Guarantees of the Rights of Citizens of the CIS Member States in the Field of Pension Provision of 13 March 1992. This international framework was intended to protect the pension rights of persons moving between participating states.

The 1992 Agreement is based on the territorial principle of pension provision. Under this approach, responsibility for granting and paying a pension generally lies with the state in which the pensioner resides.

The rules established by the relevant international framework apply to persons moving in either direction — from Turkmenistan to Ukraine or from Ukraine to Turkmenistan — subject to the international arrangements and national legislation applicable at the relevant time.

First, under the territorial model, the costs associated with pension provision are generally borne by the state responsible for granting and paying the pension.

Second, a pension is generally granted to a person covered by the relevant international arrangements according to the legislation applicable at their place of residence. Therefore, a person who relocates to Ukraine should determine their pension entitlement under Ukrainian legislation, taking into account any applicable international rules concerning periods of employment accumulated abroad.

Third, the relevant international arrangements may contain rules concerning the calculation of earnings accumulated in another participating state, including the use of an officially established exchange rate when determining the earnings relevant to the pension calculation.

A separate issue is the taxation of pension income. Ukraine and Turkmenistan have also concluded a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and Property. The Convention establishes rules determining which state may tax pensions and other similar remuneration connected with past employment.

Therefore, persons who have worked or received a pension in Turkmenistan and subsequently move to Ukraine should distinguish between several separate issues: recognition of foreign employment or insurance periods, entitlement to a Ukrainian pension, continuation or termination of an existing foreign pension, and taxation of pension income. The international agreements and national legislation applicable at the time of relocation or pension application should be examined carefully in each individual case.