Insurance record in Ukraine: how to check it online and fix errors before it is too late

Why check your record now

Your insurance record (strakhovyi stazh) decides when you can retire and how large your pension will be. The requirement grows every year: according to the Pension Fund, retiring at 60 required 31 years of record in 2024, and the requirement rises by 12 months a year until it reaches 35 years in 2028. So in 2026 it is 33 years. People without enough record retire later, at 63 or 65.

Errors in the record are common: an employer did not file reports, a sole proprietor paid less than the minimum contribution, a company was liquidated together with its archive, or an entry in the labour book was made incorrectly. Each of these can be fixed, but it takes time and documents. Finding a certificate from a company that closed 20 years ago is far easier at 40 than at 59.

How to check your record online

1. Log in to the Pension Fund web portal portal.pfu.gov.ua with a qualified electronic signature, Diia.Signature or BankID.
2. Open the «My insurance record» section. It shows which periods are credited, by year and month, starting from 1 January 2004, when the register of insured persons began.
3. Check the «My salary» section. It shows month by month the income on which ESV was paid, and your employers. Your pension amount depends on these figures.
4. Order an OK-5 certificate. This is a detailed statement of your record and contributions that shows which months were not paid in full. Once ready, it appears in the «My documents» section of the portal.

What to look for in the statement

• Missing months or years when you definitely worked officially.
• Partial months. A month counts in full only if the contribution for it was at least the minimum: in 2026 that is UAH 1,902.34, or 22% of the minimum wage. If less was paid, the month is credited only in part, in proportion to the amount paid. This often happens to part-time workers and sole proprietors who paid below the minimum.
• A salary that does not match the real one, including zero months while you were working.
• Employers you do not recognise, or missing ones you worked for.

Common errors and how to fix them

Digitising your labour book

The paper labour book is no longer used for current records, but its entries remain the basis for crediting service before 2004. The official digitisation deadline passed on 10 June 2026, but the Pension Fund has said it still accepts scans. You can upload them yourself through the Pension Fund web portal. After review, the status of your application changes to «Completed». If it is returned, the notification gives the reason: correct the errors and submit again.

If your employer did not pay contributions

Changes under Law No. 4851-IX have applied since 2 August 2026. A period of work now counts toward eligibility for an old-age pension even if the employer never paid the contributions, on two conditions: the employer owes ESV, and it filed reports that charged contributions for you of at least the minimum amount. These changes concern eligibility for a pension. If the employer filed no reports at all, the period is not credited until it does.

Can you buy insurance record

If you are short of record, you can build it up with voluntary contributions.

• For current and future months, you can sign a voluntary participation agreement online on the Pension Fund portal. For a month to count in full in 2026, you need to pay at least UAH 1,902.34.
• For past periods when you were not insured, you can make a lump-sum payment, but it costs more: at least twice the minimum contribution, which is UAH 3,804.68 for each month in 2026. According to the Pension Fund, you can buy no more than 10 years this way. There is no need to buy periods your employer already reported.

Sole proprietors pay ESV for themselves and can control their record directly: the minimum contribution and payment deadlines are explained in our article on sole proprietor taxes, and you can work out ESV together with taxes for your group in the single tax calculator.

Step-by-step plan

1. Log in to the Pension Fund portal and look at your total record and the monthly data since 2004.
2. Order an OK-5 certificate and find months with no contributions or partial ones.
3. Check whether your labour book is digitised. If not, upload the scans.
4. Collect documents for the missing periods: the labour book, certificates, archive certificates, contracts.
5. Apply to the Pension Fund to have the periods credited, and if refused, ask for a written decision.
6. If you are still short of record, work out what buying the months would cost and compare it with other options.
7. Repeat the check once a year, especially after changing jobs.

Your record determines your state pension, but it may be modest even with a full record. How to save extra money for retirement yourself and how much to put aside is worked out in our article on saving for retirement.

In short

• You can check your record for free on the Pension Fund portal: the «My insurance record» and «My salary» sections and the OK-5 certificate.
• In 2026 you need 33 years of record to retire at 60, and 35 in 2028.
• Service before 2004 is proven by the labour book: digitise it, the Pension Fund still accepts scans after 10 June 2026.
• A month counts in full only with a contribution of at least UAH 1,902.34 in 2026.
• Since 2 August 2026, periods with employer debt count toward eligibility for a pension if the employer filed reports.
• You can buy record for past periods for no more than 10 years, at UAH 3,804.68 a month in 2026.

This article is for information only and is not legal advice. The rules for crediting insurance record depend on the period and type of work. In complex cases, contact a Pension Fund service centre or a lawyer.