Uzbekistan Preparing Pension Agreements with Russia and Kazakhstan for Labor Migrants
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is negotiating with Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries where Uzbek citizens work to recognize their employment periods and regulate pension payments. Under the proposed mechanism, each country would pay a pension corresponding to the period of official employment on its territory.
The information was provided on September 25 by Nuriddin Shadikhodjaev, Deputy Executive Director of the Extrabudgetary Pension Fund under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, during a press conference on the draft pension reform.
According to Shadikhodjaev, similar agreements have already been signed with Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. They provide for pension payments based on periods of official employment in different countries. For example, if a person officially worked in Azerbaijan for 10 years and in Uzbekistan for five years, Azerbaijan would pay the pension corresponding to the 10 years worked there, while Uzbekistan would cover the five-year period worked in the country.
“Wherever citizens work, if they work officially, that state will pay the corresponding pension, and we will do the same for our period,” Shadikhodjaev said.
The Pension Fund said work is currently under way on similar arrangements with Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries where large numbers of Uzbek citizens are employed. The mechanism is intended to ensure that officially acquired employment periods are recognized under intergovernmental agreements, with each country assuming pension obligations for the corresponding period of work.
Uzbek citizens working abroad can also already make voluntary contributions to the Pension Fund. After returning to Uzbekistan, they may have previous periods of work abroad counted toward their pension record if they pay social tax for those periods within three years. The payment is set at one basic calculated value per year, currently 440,000 soums.
The system therefore provides two mechanisms for protecting the pension rights of labor migrants: voluntary contributions that allow previous periods to be included in the pension record, and international agreements that recognize officially completed work periods in different countries.
According to Shadikhodjaev, similar agreements have already been signed with Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. They provide for pension payments based on periods of official employment in different countries. For example, if a person officially worked in Azerbaijan for 10 years and in Uzbekistan for five years, Azerbaijan would pay the pension corresponding to the 10 years worked there, while Uzbekistan would cover the five-year period worked in the country.
“Wherever citizens work, if they work officially, that state will pay the corresponding pension, and we will do the same for our period,” Shadikhodjaev said.
The Pension Fund said work is currently under way on similar arrangements with Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries where large numbers of Uzbek citizens are employed. The mechanism is intended to ensure that officially acquired employment periods are recognized under intergovernmental agreements, with each country assuming pension obligations for the corresponding period of work.
Uzbek citizens working abroad can also already make voluntary contributions to the Pension Fund. After returning to Uzbekistan, they may have previous periods of work abroad counted toward their pension record if they pay social tax for those periods within three years. The payment is set at one basic calculated value per year, currently 440,000 soums.
The system therefore provides two mechanisms for protecting the pension rights of labor migrants: voluntary contributions that allow previous periods to be included in the pension record, and international agreements that recognize officially completed work periods in different countries.
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