Does experience in Germany count towards pension in Ukraine: clarification from the Pension Fund

Periods of work abroad, in particular in Germany, may be taken into account when assigning an old-age pension in Ukraine. At the same time, such experience is relevant only for determining the right to pension payments and does not affect their size. The Pension Fund of Ukraine provided a corresponding explanation.

Legal basis of the mechanism

The procedure for crediting the experience acquired outside Ukraine is determined by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated May 16, 2025 No. 562.

The document regulates the procedure for confirming and taking into account periods of work in other countries in cases where a person does not have enough insurance experience to assign an old-age pension.

When foreign experience is taken into account

This concerns, in particular, countries with which Ukraine does not have international agreements on the mutual crediting of insurance experience. Such countries include Germany.

In such cases:

— periods of work abroad are added to the insurance experience;

— they are taken into account exclusively for determining the right to a pension;
— this length of service does not affect the amount of pension payments.

What documents are required

To take into account the length of service, it is necessary to submit to the Pension Fund:

— an application for the appointment of a pension;
— documents confirming work abroad (certificates, extracts, etc.).

Documents must be properly legalized, unless otherwise provided for by international treaties of Ukraine.

What to do in the absence of confirmations

If the documents are missing or contain incomplete data, an interdepartmental mechanism for confirming the length of service is applied.

In particular:

— the territorial body of the Pension Fund within five working days applies to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
— the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requests the necessary information from the foreign party through diplomatic channels;
— after receiving the response, the data is transferred to the Pension Fund;
— based on the information received, the length of service is counted in the calendar calculation.

Thus, Ukrainians who worked abroad, in particular in Germany, can count on this period being taken into account for the right to a pension, even if there is no interstate agreement.