In 2026, a significant portion of Ukrainian pensioners will have work experience accumulated during the existence of the USSR. Typically, this experience is taken into account when assigning an old-age pension; however, there are cases where part of the work experience may not be counted, putting the full pension at risk.
This is reported by Finway
Conditions for counting Soviet work experience
Ukrainian legislation stipulates that insurance experience acquired before January 1, 2004, is considered for determining pension rights. That is, periods of work during the Soviet era for which appropriate contributions were made are automatically counted towards the experience if there are properly documented employment records or other documents. However, situations arise where information about the work experience is incomplete or missing due to the loss of archival documents, liquidation of enterprises, or improper documentation in the employment record book.
Consequences of lack of confirmation of work experience
In the absence of confirming documents, periods of work in the USSR may not be counted towards the insurance experience required to receive a pension. This means that a person risks losing years of work experience, which affects both the right to retire and the amount of the pension. Archival certificates, military IDs, diplomas, or other documents that confirm the fact of employment or education can be used to validate work experience.
«Most Ukrainians who will receive an old-age pension in 2026 have insurance experience dating back to the Soviet era. In some cases, such work activity is counted without any additional conditions. But there are cases where part of the Soviet work experience will not be considered».
Experts advise checking personal employment records in advance and, if necessary, contacting archival institutions for confirming certificates. This will help avoid situations where decades of work experience are not counted when assigning a pension in 2026.