Advantages of the Commonwealth of the EAEU countries
Today we are talking about the practice of interaction between the competent authorities of the EAEU member states on pension provision for workers and members of their families with Gulmira Kenzhebekovna Kimolayeva, Deputy Director of the Department of Organization of Payments and Information of UAPF JSC.
Gulmira Kenzhebekovna, this year the Agreement on Pension Provision for Workers of the EAEU member states of 20.12.2019 entered into force, work on which has been going on since 2015. I believe that this happened because each of the countries wanted to provide its citizens with the best conditions for accumulating pensions where they work. Please tell us more about this.
Yes, the document was thoroughly and comprehensively discussed, since the issues of pension provision for workers of the EAEU countries engaged in temporary labor activity in the territories of the EAEU countries were not settled and, of course, the entry into force of this Agreement from January 2021 has a positive impact on the pension provision of workers – citizens of the EAEU countries[1].
Recall that the Agreement was developed in the implementation of the EAEU Treaty[2], is an international treaty ratified by the Republic of Kazakhstan and applies to workers and family members.
The main purpose of the Agreement is to form the pension rights of workers of the EAEU member states on the same terms and in the same manner as citizens of the state of employment. This means that each EAEU member State must guarantee citizens of other EAEU member states the amount of pension rights equal to the amount of rights granted to its citizens on similar terms.
What types of pensions can citizens of the EAEU countries claim under the Agreement, including in our country?
The types of pensions assigned by the EAEU member States to which the Agreement applies are defined by Article 2 of the Agreement, mainly, of course, old-age labor pensions (assigned for work experience), as well as disability and survivor's loss.
In Kazakhstan, the Agreement applies to legal relations on the payment of pension contributions to the UAPF by workers, while the right to receive them from workers will arise in accordance with the legislation of Kazakhstan:
- upon reaching retirement age;
- when disability of groups 1 and 2 is established, if the disability is established indefinitely,
- in the event of the death of a worker, a citizen of the EAEU country who has pension savings in the UAPF, the right to receive them at one time passes to his heirs when providing the legal documents defined by the legislation of Kazakhstan to the UAPF.
How do the competent authorities of the EAEU countries (pension funds) interact in the appointment and payment of pensions?
The interaction of competent authorities in the appointment and payment of pensions under the Agreement is regulated by the Procedure of Interaction [3], in which the competent authorities exchange relevant information forms containing information necessary for the appointment and payment of pensions.
For example, the Agreement provides that if the length of service acquired in the territory of one Member State is not sufficient for the right to a pension, then the length of service acquired in the territories of other member States is taken into account in accordance with the legislation of each of the member States, except in cases when such length of service coincides in time.
In these cases, the competent authorities will exchange the missing information on the length of service required for the right to a pension by filling out and submitting the appropriate form.
At the same time, we note that there is no need to confirm the length of service for the appointment of pension payments from the UAPF, since pension payments from the UAPF are calculated and carried out depending on the amount of pension savings formed by workers in the UAPF.
Currently, the EEC[4], together with the authorized and competent authorities, is working to integrate the information systems of the authorized and competent authorities of the EAEU member States with the integrated information system of the EAEU for the exchange of electronic information necessary for the appointment and payment of pensions.
Prior to the transition to electronic information exchange, the interaction between the competent authorities will be carried out on paper.
Can you explain by example whether a pension was assigned to a citizen of the Russian Federation (RF) who worked in Kazakhstan after the Agreement came into force? To which competent authority did he apply for the appointment and payment of a pension?
Yes, of course. I repeat that, in accordance with the Agreement, the exercise of the right to the appointment and payment of a pension to workers is carried out on the same conditions as for citizens of the State of employment, while the worker (family member) has the right to apply for the appointment and payment of a pension to the competent authority of the State of residence or the state of employment.
For example, in Kazakhstan, the competent authority for the implementation of the Agreement is the UAPF, in the Russian Federation - the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the FIU).
So, in the practical activities of the UAPF this year, there are two facts of citizens of the Russian Federation applying to the UAPF for pension payments in connection with reaching retirement age (a man of 63 years and a woman of 60 years).
The applied citizens of the Russian Federation who worked in Kazakhstan on the basis of an employment contract concluded with an employer, the period of transfer of pension contributions to the UAPF (from 01.01.2021 until reaching retirement age according to the legislation of Kazakhstan) was insignificant, respectively, and the amount of pension savings on the date of application was insignificant and paid to recipients at a time in full.
When making pension payments from the UAPF to citizens of the Russian Federation, is interaction with the FIU carried out in practice?
Paragraph 5 of Article 4 of the Agreement provides that when establishing additional payments and other payments provided for by the legislation of a Member State, pensions assigned to a worker (family member) in all Member States are taken into account.
In accordance with the Procedure for Interaction, the competent authorities of the Member States inform each other about the circumstances entailing a change in the size of the pension or termination of its payment, as well as about changes in the personal data of the employee (family member) and other circumstances relevant to the application of the Agreement by sending the necessary information as indicated above using information forms.
Taking into account that within the framework of the UAPF Agreement pension payments were made to citizens of the Russian Federation in connection with reaching retirement age under the legislation of Kazakhstan, the UAPF, in accordance with the norms of the Agreement and the Procedure for Interaction, information forms were sent to the FIU indicating the details of citizens of the Russian Federation, the amount and period of pension payments made.
Thus, despite the short period of validity of the Agreement, we see that citizens of the EAEU countries practically form and exercise their pension rights in the states of employment on an equal basis with citizens of the host country, respectively, the purpose of the Agreement has been achieved.
Thank you for the conversation!
[1] Eurasian Economic Union
[2] Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union of May 29, 2014
[3] The procedure for interaction between authorized bodies, competent authorities of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Commission on the application of the provisions of the Agreement on Pension Provision of Workers of the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union dated December 20, 2019, approved by the Decision of the EEC Council dated December 23, 2020 No. 122
[4] Eurasian Economic Commission