Kazakhstan and Mongolia establish cooperation in the pension sector

Kazakhstan and Mongolia establish cooperation in the pension sector

On April 1, 2026, the Agreement between the Governments of Kazakhstan and Mongolia on Cooperation in the Pension Sector (Agreement) entered into force. It aims to protect the pension rights of citizens of both countries.

The Agreement applies to citizens of Kazakhstan and Mongolia who permanently reside in one of the countries and have work experience in Kazakhstan or Mongolia, which will be taken into account when assigning a pension in one of these countries under the laws of the country of residence.

The following types of payments shall be provided under the Agreement:

• in Kazakhstan – old-age pension payments from the national budget, as well as pension payments upon reaching retirement age from compulsory pension contributions and compulsory professional pension contributions from Unified Accumulative Pension Fund (funded pensions);
• in Mongolia - old-age pensions from the insurance pension fund, with the exception of early pensions for individuals who worked in hazardous or difficult working conditions (in this case, they are paid from the insurance pension fund in the manner and under the conditions stipulated by Mongolian social security legislation).

An application for an old-age pension from budgetary funds in Kazakhstan and an old-age pension in Mongolia, along with the required documents stipulated by the legislation of the country of residence, shall be submitted by the applicant to the competent authority of the country of residence.

Citizens of Mongolia may also submit an application for a funded pension from UAPF, along with the required documents, to the competent authority of either country.

The authorized bodies for the implementation of the Agreement are:

- in Kazakhstan - the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

- in Mongolia - the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Mongolia.The competent authorities in Kazakhstan for the implementation of the Agreement are:

• UAPF, which handles funded pension issues. Its functions include receiving applications and documents from citizens of Mongolia with pension savings in UAPF or their representatives, processing the information and documents, making decisions on the assignment or refusal of funded pensions, and implementing funded pension payments;
• 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 (the Committee), which verifies work experience and submits inquiries regarding work experience when assigning old-age pensions in Kazakhstan and Mongolia. If a citizen of Mongolia is assigned a pension in Kazakhstan, a request is sent, if necessary, to the competent authority in Mongolia to confirm the work experience acquired in Mongolia. In turn, upon request from the Mongolian side, the Committee provides information on the work experience of citizens of Kazakhstan if they are assigned a pension in Mongolia.

Citizens of Mongolia receive their funded pension from UAPF:

• if the funded pension recipient, who has reached retirement age under Kazakhstan law (63 for men and 61 in 2026 for women), leaves Kazakhstan for permanent residence in Mongolia, provided that their departure for permanent residence is recorded in the State Database of Individuals (SDBI) (lump sum payments of pension savings related to departure for permanent residence are not provided);
• monthly to the recipient's account in the national currency of Mongolia (tugrik).

The adoption of the Agreement between Kazakhstan and Mongolia is an important step in the development of international cooperation in the pension sector. It ensures the preservation of pension rights for citizens who worked in both countries and makes the pension assignment process more convenient and transparent. The implementation of the Agreement will allow citizens to take into account work experience acquired abroad and receive pension payments in accordance with the laws of the country of residence, which is especially important in the context of increasing labor mobility of the population.

UAPF was established on August 22, 2013, on the basis of State Accumulation Pension Fund National Pension Fund JSC. The founder and shareholder of UAPF is the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan represented by Committee on State Property and Privatization State Institution of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan. National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan exercises trust management of UAPF's pension assets. In accordance with pension legislation, UAPF collects compulsory pension contributions, compulsory employer pension contributions, compulsory professional pension contributions, and voluntary pension contributions, as well as credits and records voluntary pension contributions formed from the unclaimed amount of guarantee compensation for a guaranteed deposit transferred by an organization providing mandatory deposit guarantees, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Mandatory Guarantee of Deposits Placed in Second-Tier Banks of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and ensures the implementation of pension payments. The Fund also maintains records of target assets and targeted requirements, records and credits targeted savings (TS) to targeted savings accounts, pays TS to recipients' bank accounts, and records returns of TS in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the framework of National Fund for Children program. (More information at www.enpf.kz).