The Agreement on Pension Provision for Workers of the Eurasian Economic Union Member States, dated December 20, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement), has been in effect for six years now. It regulates relations in the area of ​​pension provision for citizens of the EAEU member states[1].

As a reminder, one of the main goals of the Agreement is to establish and implement pension rights for workers of the EAEU member states under the same conditions and in the same manner as for citizens of the state of employment.

History

On December 20, 2019, a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council was held, at which the heads of states of the EAEU signed the Agreement.

Starting January 1, 2021, after the ratification of the Agreement by all EAEU states, their citizens working in other EAEU countries will develop, maintain, and exercise their pension rights equally with citizens of the country in which they are employed. Each EAEU member state now pays pensions in accordance with its own legislation for the length of service acquired by workers in its territory after January 1, 2021. If an employee's length of service acquired in the territory of one member state is insufficient to establish pension entitlement (with the exception of funded pensions), then work experience acquired in other EAEU countries, including prior to the entry into force of the Agreement, is taken into account, unless such work experience overlaps in time. It is worth noting that citizens of EAEU countries must formalize employment relationships with employers in the countries of employment, that is, they must conclude employment or civil law contracts in a timely manner.

Implementation of the Agreement in Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, the Agreement applies to legal relationships regarding the payment of pension contributions to the UAPF and pension benefits from the UAPF under the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan upon reaching retirement age or upon the establishment of permanent disability of groups 1 or 2.

For example, if a citizen of Kazakhstan gains work experience (e.g., 3-5 years) in the territory of an EAEU member state after the Agreement enters into force, then upon the emergence of the right to a pension under the pension legislation of the country of employment (reaching retirement age, having a certain length of service), the country in which the migrant worked will assign a pension for the length of service completed in that country. In this case, the citizen of Kazakhstan will have the right to submit an application with documents for the appointment and payment of a pension to the competent authority of the EAEU country or to the UAPF, as the competent authority in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The list of documents required for the appointment and payment of a pension to an employee is regulated by the national legislation of each EAEU member state.

Competent authorities

The competent authorities in the Republic of Kazakhstan for confirming the work experience of employees of EAEU member states are UAPF JSC, the Committee for Regulation and Control of Social Protection of the Population of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and their regional branches.

UAPF provides information on work experience since January 1, 1998, based on data on the payment of compulsory pension contributions available in the information system.

You can also contact UAPF with the following questions:

• receiving and processing information and documents,
• making decisions on the appointment or refusal of a pension,
• organizing pension benefit/delivery.

Detailed information is available on the enpf.kz website in the "Services" section.

To confirm work experience prior to 1998, please contact the Committee for Regulation and Control of Social Protection of the Population of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Agreement in numbers

As part of the implementation of the Agreement in Kazakhstan, as of January 1, 2026:

• Pension contributions to the UAPF were transferred to 105,029 workers who are citizens of EAEU member states and who work in Kazakhstan under employment and civil law contracts with employers.

Moreover, according to Kazakhstani law, if there are no open UAPF accounts to record pension contributions, these UAPF accounts are opened automatically upon receipt of the first contribution, i.e., without an application;

• The UAPF accepted and processed applications for pension benefits from 291 citizens of EAEU member states, of which:

266 workers were assigned pension benefits upon reaching retirement age under Kazakhstani law;

25 heirs were assigned pension benefits upon the death of workers;

• The competent pension authorities of the Russian Federation and the Kyrgyz Republic have awarded:

lifetime old-age/old-age/disability pensions to 26 citizens of Kazakhstan who worked in Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation under employment contracts and contributed to their pension systems;

survivor's pensions to four citizens of Kazakhstan following the death of two other citizens of Kazakhstan.

Statistics show that, despite the relatively short period of validity of the Agreement, citizens of EAEU member states have been given the opportunity to exercise their pension rights in EAEU countries, meaning that the primary objective of the adopted document has been achieved.      

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/akimat-karakiya/press/news/details/1183954?lang=kk