Ukraine-Portugal Social Security Agreement: How Pension Periods Are Combined

Say you worked 12 years in Ukraine, then moved to Portugal and worked there for another 5. Now you’re thinking about retirement and wondering: does work experience from both countries count together? Who pays what? This is one of the most common questions among Ukrainians living and working in Portugal.

Short answer: yes, the periods combine. Since March 1, 2012, Ukraine and Portugal have had a Social Security Agreement in force, signed on July 7, 2009. The agreement lets you add up insurance periods from both countries and receive a pension from each - proportional to how long you worked on its territory.

What the agreement covers¶

The agreement isn’t just about old-age pensions. It covers a fairly wide range of social benefits:

• old-age pensions
• disability pensions
• survivor pensions (loss of breadwinner)
• temporary incapacity benefits (sick leave)
• workplace accident and occupational disease compensation
• maternity and childbirth benefits
• childcare allowance up to age 3

So if you’re officially employed in Portugal and become incapacitated - the agreement protects you on both sides.

Who it applies to: citizens of Ukraine and Portugal who are legally working or residing in either country. Family members and stateless persons living in one of the countries may also fall under the agreement, depending on the specific situation.

How pension periods are counted: the proportional principle¶

This is the key thing to understand. The agreement operates on a proportional principle: each country calculates and pays a pension only for the insurance period the person accumulated on its own territory.

But there’s an important feature - period aggregation to establish pension entitlement. Here’s how it works in practice:

Example. Ivan Petrenko worked in Ukraine for 12 years, then moved to Portugal and worked there for 4 more years. The minimum qualifying period for a pension in both countries is 15 years. Neither country alone has enough (12 < 15 and 4 < 15). But under the agreement, periods are added together: 12 + 4 = 16 years - and the right to a pension arises in both countries.

Then each country calculates its share: - Ukraine calculates a pension for 12 years of Ukrainian contributions and pays its portion - Portugal calculates a pension for 4 years of Portuguese contributions and pays its portion

The payments are independent - you can receive both pensions simultaneously, wherever you live.

As Ukraine’s Pension Fund explains regarding the rules:

Aggregation of insurance periods acquired under the legislation of both countries is applied in cases where the insurance period acquired under the legislation of one country alone is insufficient to establish entitlement to a pension.

So aggregation isn’t always automatic. If each country already has enough qualifying periods on its own, each simply calculates its own pension independently.

Different retirement ages: an important nuance¶

Ukraine’s retirement age is 60 (for both men and women). Portugal’s is higher and changes annually: in 2025 it’s 66 years and 7 months, in 2026 - 66 years and 9 months.

What this means in practice: if you’ve turned 60 and have enough Ukrainian contributions, you can already claim a Ukrainian pension. But the Portuguese portion only becomes available once you reach Portugal’s retirement age.

There can be a 6-7 year gap between the two payments. You receive the Ukrainian pension while waiting for the Portuguese one. This is normal and built into the agreement - each country applies its own legislation on retirement age.

The minimum insurance period in Portugal for pension entitlement is 15 years of contributions. If Portuguese periods alone are under 15 years but combined with Ukrainian periods they reach 15+ - aggregation applies and a proportional pension is awarded.

How much is the Portuguese pension: real figures¶

The Portuguese pension is calculated using a more complex formula, but for orientation here are approximate amounts by length of service in Portugal (2025 figures):

The social pension for those who don’t meet the contribution requirements is €255.25 per month (2025). But it’s only available to Portuguese residents with very low income.

The actual amount also depends on the salary from which contributions were made. The formula takes into account “global remuneration” - the average earnings across the entire active working life. Two people with the same number of contribution years can end up with quite different pension amounts.

How to apply for a pension: two scenarios¶

There are two main paths depending on where you live.

Scenario 1: living in Ukraine, want to count Portuguese periods¶

You go to your local territorial office of Ukraine’s Pension Fund (PFU). Documents to bring:

• pension application
• NISS (Número de Identificação de Segurança Social - Portuguese social insurance number)
• NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal - Portuguese tax identification number)
• exact name and address of the Portuguese employer(s) who paid your contributions
• Ukrainian labour book or employment records
• salary certificate for any 60 consecutive calendar months before July 1, 2000 (if you have pre-2000 work history)

The Pension Fund requests the necessary data from Portuguese authorities through administrative channels. You don’t have to collect and bring documents from Portugal yourself - the exchange happens between institutions.

The process uses a specific form UA/PT-8 - the standard inter-state data exchange form for insurance periods.

Scenario 2: living in Portugal, want to count Ukrainian periods¶

You go to your local Segurança Social office (Portuguese social insurance) in your place of residence. You apply there, and the Portuguese side sends a request to Ukraine’s Pension Fund to confirm your Ukrainian work history.

There’s a practical wrinkle here: work history before July 1, 2000 in Ukraine isn’t in the electronic database. It needs to be confirmed by a Ukrainian labour book (trудова книжка) or archive certificates - physical documents. If you have pre-2000 Ukrainian work history, make sure those documents are accessible and in good condition.

As Ukraine’s Embassy in Portugal notes:

Work history accumulated after July 1, 2000, is confirmed from the State Register of Mandatory State Social Insurance. Earlier periods are confirmed exclusively by primary documents.

What needs to be translated - and what doesn’t¶

The agreement contains an important provision: documents exchanged between the pension authorities of both countries are exempt from legalization and translation.

So if Ukraine’s Pension Fund requests Portuguese contribution data from Segurança Social - Segurança Social sends it directly, without notarization and without an official translation. The same applies in the other direction.

But there are documents you submit yourself to the pension authority - and here the situation is slightly different:

The key point: no apostille required. Ukraine and Portugal agreed that documents under this agreement are accepted without any additional legalization - diplomatic or consular. This is a meaningful simplification compared to most cross-border document situations.

If you do need to translate a labour book or salary certificates into Portuguese (for submission to Segurança Social), this is a standard certified document translation - not complicated, typically €20-40 per page for the Ukrainian-Portuguese language pair.

Annual life confirmation for pensioners¶

If you receive a pension from Ukraine’s Pension Fund but live in Portugal - every year before December 31 you need to confirm that you’re alive and still living abroad.

This is called a “life certificate” (довідка про перебування в живих / declaração de vida). Without it, payments can be suspended.

Where to get it: at Ukraine’s Consulate in Lisbon, or from a Portuguese notary or lawyer. The document confirms your identity and your residence in Portugal.

You also need to notify Ukraine’s Pension Fund of any change in your address, banking details, or marital status. The pension is paid to a personal bank account - Portuguese or Ukrainian, whichever is more convenient.

FAQ¶

From what year does Portugal count my work history?¶

From the moment you were officially employed in Portugal and started paying contributions to Segurança Social. The agreement entered into force on March 1, 2012, but it also covers periods accumulated before that date - provided they’re confirmed by official documents.

I’m still working in Portugal and haven’t reached retirement age - what should I do now?¶

Nothing specific right now, beyond keeping your employment documents and making sure contributions to Segurança Social are being correctly recorded. When the time comes, you approach Segurança Social or the PFU depending on where you plan to live in retirement.

Can I receive both Ukrainian and Portuguese pensions simultaneously?¶

Yes. The agreement explicitly provides that each country pays its share independently. There are no restrictions on receiving payments from both countries at the same time.

How long does the application process take?¶

Anywhere from a few months to half a year. Data exchange between pension authorities through inter-state channels takes time. It’s advisable to apply 3-6 months before your desired start date.

Is an apostille required on any documents?¶

No. The agreement between Ukraine and Portugal explicitly states that documents are exempt from legalization by diplomatic or consular institutions. No apostille required.

What if I also have work history in a third country - say, Poland?¶

The agreement contains a provision that, for determining pension entitlement, periods accumulated in a third country may also be taken into account - provided both Ukraine and Portugal have separate bilateral agreements with that country. This is a more complex situation - worth clarifying directly with the PFU or Segurança Social.

Where to get help in Portugal?¶

At Segurança Social Direta - the online portal or a physical office near you. For consular questions and document assistance - Ukraine’s Embassy in Portugal in Lisbon. At Ukraine’s Pension Fund if you’re applying for the Ukrainian portion; hotline: 0-800-503-753.