Double service credit for medical workers: who is eligible for the benefit and what are the limitations

Ukrainian legislation provides for a special mechanism for accruing service credit for certain categories of medical professionals. For employees of specific medical institutions and units, certain periods of professional activity may be counted towards pension service credit at double volume. However, this benefit has clear boundaries: when determining the financial amount of pension payments, periods of work falling after 1 January 2004 are taken into account at the standard (single) rate.

List of facilities where preferential accrual applies

In accordance with Article 60 of the Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision", the right to double service credit accrual is granted to employees who performed duties in the following medical institutions or departments:

• leprosariums and plague prevention healthcare facilities;
• medical institutions and departments providing care to persons infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS;
• other infectious disease facilities and departments;
• pathoanatomical and intensive care departments of medical institutions;
• psychiatric healthcare facilities.

It is important to note that the exercise of this right depends on meeting the conditions established by current legislation, as well as on the purpose for which the service credit is being calculated.

Why double service credit does not guarantee increased payments

The Pension Fund explains that the double accrual mechanism does not mean automatic doubling of each year worked when calculating the pension amount. The key is distinguishing between two concepts: the service credit required to acquire the right to a pension, and the service credit used to determine its amount.

In accordance with Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory State Pension Insurance", the preferential method of calculating service credit that was previously in force applies to determining the right to a preferential old-age pension and a length-of-service pension. In these cases, double accrual may be taken into account for both periods before 1 January 2004 and periods after this date.

However, the situation changes when it comes to calculating the specific amount of the payment. Periods of professional activity that occurred after 1 January 2004 are counted towards the insurance service credit on general grounds when calculating the pension amount, that is, at the single rate.

Rules for confirming service credit

The procedure for confirming work service credit varies depending on the time period:

• For periods before 1 January 2004: service credit is confirmed by documents in accordance with the legislation in force at that time. The primary source of information is usually the employment record book. If the necessary entries are not present in it, other documents specified by law may be used.
• For periods after 1 January 2004: insurance service credit is determined based on data from the personalised accounting system. This is information about the insured person stored in the State Register of Mandatory State Social Insurance.

Therefore, for the correct determination of service credit, it is critically important to consider not only the type of medical facility, but also the specific period of work, as well as the specific purpose (acquiring the right or calculating the amount) for which the accounting is being conducted.

Is leave for childcare taken into account

Specific provisions apply to leave for childcare until the child reaches the age of three. In accordance with Article 181 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, this period is included in the work service credit, including the length-of-service credit.

At the same time, when accruing insurance service credit, such a period is taken into account only at the single rate, not at the double rate.

Thus, medical workers claiming preferential service credit accrual need to verify that their workplace falls into the categories defined by law, clarify the period of duty performance, and determine the purpose of the service credit calculation.

It was previously reported that in 2027, Ukraine may extend payment restrictions for recipients of certain special pensions whose amount exceeds 28,780 UAH. The relevant provision is included in the draft State Budget. Reduction coefficients are planned to be applied to the amount exceeding the established threshold. The final rules will depend on the adopted version of the budget and the Cabinet of Ministers' decision regarding the coefficients.