Pensions in Uzbekistan: eligibility, work record and calculation

In Uzbekistan, entitlement to an old-age pension depends on both age and a documented employment record. As a general rule, a man needs age 60 and 25 years (Art. 7 of the Pensions Law), while a woman needs age 55 and 20 years. If the full record is missing, a proportional old-age pension may be granted with at least 7 years (Art. 8 of the Pensions Law) of actual work or another qualifying activity.

In brief

• Check the total record and every period shown in the electronic employment record and government databases.
• Education, childcare and some other non-working periods count only if a separate actual-service condition is met.
• Registration as self-employed does not replace the social-tax payment needed to build pensionable service.
• Correct errors before pension age because an ordinary old-age pension is usually awarded proactively from government data.

Updated: 05 September 2026

Pension types and qualifying service

What types of pension provision are available

The law provides three types (Art. 2 of the Pensions Law) of state pension: old age, disability and loss of breadwinner. If a person is entitled to more than one state pension, only one chosen pension (Art. 4 of the Pensions Law) is paid.

The funded pension scheme does not replace the state pension. It adds the money held in an individual account at Xalq Bank. The right to receive that money arises with the state-pension entitlement, and the person may choose a monthly or lump-sum payment (Art. 19 of the Funded Pensions Law).

This article focuses on the general civilian old-age pension. Separate regimes apply to military personnel, internal-affairs and National Guard officers, judges and certain other groups. A person without the required service may qualify for a social allowance instead, but that is not a state pension under the general rules discussed here.

How much service is required for an old-age pension

Seven years is not a full employment record. It is the minimum gateway for a partial old-age pension. Only actual periods under paragraphs “a”–“d” and “k” of Article 37 qualify for this gateway, such as paid employment, military service, or individual entrepreneurship and self-employment with the required payments. Education or care alone cannot create the seven-year minimum.

A woman with at least 20 actual years (Art. 12¹ of the Pensions Law) in the specified work and activity categories may receive an old-age pension from age 54. Other preferential rules apply to particular occupations, working conditions and social categories.

Employment record and supporting documents

What counts toward pensionable employment record

Official employment forms the core of the record. For work before 2019, the test is generally whether insurance contributions were paid; after 2019, it is work for which employment remuneration was accrued. The law also includes other periods (Art. 37 of the Pensions Law), including military and equivalent service, entrepreneurship and self-employment when the statutory payment conditions are met.

The following non-working periods may also count:

• full-time study at a higher-education institution, postgraduate study, doctoral study, clinical residency and certain foreign institutions;
• caring for a Group I disabled person, a disabled child under 18, or a person over 80 who needs outside care;
• childcare leave until the child turns 3, subject to a total cap of 6 years (para. 44 of the Pension Regulation);
• residence by a service member’s spouse in a place without work opportunities and residence abroad by a diplomat’s spouse, each capped at 10 years (Art. 37 of the Pensions Law);
• paid work by a prisoner where the institution paid social tax.

Education, care, childcare leave and the spouse-residence periods normally count only if the person has at least 7 actual years (Art. 37 of the Pensions Law). The law makes an exception for persons with disabilities.

Do not confuse pensionable employment record with service used for annual employment leave or with insurance record under the new social-insurance benefit system. They are separate legal measures and can cover different periods.

How self-employment, part-time work and foreign work count

A self-employed person builds one pensionable year by paying social tax of at least 440.000 (Art. 408 of the Tax Code). The payment is voluntary, but without it the relevant period does not enter the pension record. A registered self-employment period is counted (Art. 37 of the Employment Law) regardless of the actual number of days worked when the pension-payment condition is satisfied. Registration and payment details are covered in the guide to self-employment.

Part-time hours do not reduce the length of employment service. This working-time arrangement does not limit service (Art. 186 of the Labor Code). The employment must still be properly recorded and transferred to the electronic system.

Foreign work may count if the person made the required insurance contribution, unified social payment or social-tax payment, or if an applicable international agreement provides another method. The law expressly connects foreign service with the required payments (Art. 40 of the Pensions Law). For a specific country, check the applicable agreement rather than relying only on a foreign employment book.

From 2026, a civil-law contract for work or services places the contractor under mandatory state social insurance for work or services (Art. 5 of the State Social Insurance Law). The insurance record under that law concerns social-insurance benefits. It does not automatically convert every services contract into pensionable employment; the pension basis must be checked separately under the Pensions Law.

How to prove employment record and earnings

The main evidence is the paper or electronic employment book (para. 56 of the Pension Regulation). Service and earnings after 1 January 2020 are normally taken from ENST. Earlier periods may also be verified using the funded-contribution, insurance-contribution and accrued-pay registers. Archives are used when the systems have no data or when the applicant requests an additional check (para. 20 of Decree No. UP-5953).

If the book is absent, incomplete or incorrect, acceptable proof includes employer certificates, extracts from orders, personal accounts, payroll sheets, employment contracts and archive certificates (para. 56 of the Pension Regulation). Entries for work before 1 January 2005 are normally accepted without further supporting documents for those periods (para. 23 of Supreme Court Plenum Resolution No. 44).

Use this sequence:

1. Compare hiring, transfer and termination dates in the paper and electronic employment books.
2. Match employers, accrued pay and taxes in ENST and government services.
3. For gaps, ask the employer, successor or archive for records. An employer must issue employment and pay documents free of charge within 3 working days (Art. 117 of the Labor Code).
4. If records cannot be restored because the employer was liquidated, an emergency occurred or the archive has no data, service may be established in court (para. 69 of the Pension Regulation).

Witness evidence is limited. It cannot establish earnings, which must be proved by accounting or archive documents rather than testimony (para. 76 of the Pension Regulation). Nor can testimony alone establish the harmful character of privileged work. A challenge to an unlawful Pension Fund decision follows administrative procedure; establishing a legal fact when a document cannot be restored follows civil procedure under the jurisdiction rules (paras. 5–6 of Supreme Court Plenum Resolution No. 44).

Calculation, award and early retirement

How an old-age pension is calculated

Average monthly earnings are calculated for any five consecutive years in the last ten years of employment. The favorable period is selected automatically, and pensionable earnings are capped at twelve calculation bases (Art. 31 of the Pensions Law). From 1 July 2026, the pension calculation base is UZS 504,000 (para. 3 of Decree No. UP-115).

The base old-age pension for full service is 55% of average earnings (Art. 26 of the Pensions Law). Each complete year above the required service adds 1% of average earnings (Art. 27 of the Pensions Law). Statutory supplements, minimum guarantees and later indexation are then applied.

Example. Assume a man has reached the general pension age, has 30 years of service and pensionable average monthly earnings of UZS 4,000,000. The full-service requirement is 25 years, leaving 5 complete excess years. The base is 4,000,000 × 55% = UZS 2,200,000. The service addition is 4,000,000 × 5% = UZS 200,000. The preliminary result is UZS 2,400,000 per month. This is an illustrative calculation without individual supplements; the Pension Fund uses the person’s records and applies the earnings cap.

From 1 July 2026, the minimum old-age pension is UZS 983,000 (para. 1 of Decree No. UP-115), while the supplemented minimum for an incomplete old-age pension is UZS 878,000 (annex to Decree No. UP-115). These guarantees do not give everyone the same pension; the result depends on earnings, service, supplements and the legal basis.

How to obtain a pension and when payment begins

An ordinary old-age pension is awarded proactively on the day the person reaches pension age, using government data. A person who disputes the calculation or intends to continue working before the award can refuse the proactive pension within 10 days (Art. 43¹ of the Pensions Law).

Where proactive processing is technically impossible or another pension ground requires an application, the person may apply to a district or city Pension Fund office, a Public Services Center or the Unified Public Services Portal. Documents already held in government systems need not be attached again (para. 12 of the Pension Regulation).

An application is decided within 10 days (Art. 45 of the Pensions Law). Missing documents may be supplied within 3 months (Art. 46 of the Pensions Law), preserving the original application date. Under the ordinary application route, an old-age pension starts from the date entitlement arose if the person applies within 60 days (Art. 47 of the Pensions Law); otherwise it starts on the application date.

Who can receive a preferential or early pension

A job title alone does not establish preferential entitlement. The listed production, institution, work, occupation or position must match, and the required working conditions must be documented.

The occupational lists were approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 250. For special service, a full workday normally means harmful-condition exposure for at least 80% of working time (para. 5 of Instruction No. 2337). Time sheets, orders, technical records and workplace-certification results are needed. Childcare leave does not enter special preferential service.

Working pensioners and employer duties

Can a pensioner continue working

Yes. Since 1 January 2019, every working pensioner has received the pension in full (para. 1 of Decree No. UP-5597). Reaching pension age is not by itself a listed ground for termination at the employer’s initiative.

If an employee resigns because retirement makes it impossible to continue working, the employer must terminate on the date requested in the application (Art. 160 of the Labor Code). An employer cannot terminate merely because of age without another lawful ground; the employer grounds are stated separately (Art. 161 of the Labor Code).

Ordinary work after an old-age pension has been awarded does not enter the service used to increase that pension. An exception applies where the person timely refuses a proactive pension and continues working before a later award; that continued work is covered by a specific rule (Art. 37 of the Pensions Law). A separate recalculation rule applies to a Group I or II disability pension where there is qualifying work after the award.

What the employer must check

The employer must register the conclusion, amendment and termination of an employment contract in ENST. Those events form the employee’s electronic employment book (Art. 109 of the Labor Code). Actual admission to work without timely paperwork does not erase the employment relationship, but it creates record gaps and disputes.

Before an employee reaches pension age, the employer should:

• compare the paper and electronic books, personnel orders and accrued pay;
• register missing personnel events and correct erroneous ENST data;
• issue requested certified records of work, transfers, termination, earnings, taxes and service;
• maintain workplace certification and supporting documents for preferential occupations;
• check information on mandatory funded pension contributions.

An employer’s tax or contribution arrears should not deprive an employee of documented service where accrual or withholding was legally made. The Supreme Court Plenum stated that employer tax debt is not a basis (para. 9 of Supreme Court Plenum Resolution No. 44) for excluding employment. The employer can nevertheless be liable for harm caused by late or inaccurate records.

Changes and pre-award checks

What changed in 2025–2026

• From 1 July 2026, pensions and allowances increased by 7% (para. 1 of Decree No. UP-115), with new pension minimums and a new calculation base.
• From 1 March 2026, the archive period for confirming entries in a lost or damaged employment book was reduced from 20 to 10 working days (para. 12 of Decree No. UP-228).
• The State Social Insurance Law has applied since 1 January 2026. It created a separate insurance record for benefits upon insured events. That record is the period in which insurance contributions are paid for the insured person (Art. 3 of the State Social Insurance Law), not an automatic substitute for pensionable employment record.
• Proactive Group I and II disability pensions have applied since 1 July 2025 (para. 1 of Resolution No. PP-194); general old-age pensions have been proactive since 1 March 2025.

What to check before the pension is awarded

Several months before pension age, download the electronic employment book and prepare a chronology of all work. Mark education, military service, care, self-employment and foreign work separately. For each period, record its legal basis, dates, evidence, presence in a government database and any required payment.

Then identify five consecutive years with the highest documented earnings in the last ten, check names and dates across all records and request archive certificates early. For preferential entitlement, compare the position title, production, workplace, actual exposure and workplace certification. Once the award notice arrives, compare the service, earnings, percentage and supplements with your calculation. If they differ, submit records for recalculation or challenge the decision.

Frequently asked questions

Do seven years give entitlement to an ordinary pension?

Seven actual years permit a proportional, incomplete old-age pension. A full pension under the general rule requires 25 years for a man and 20 years for a woman of documented service (Art. 7 of the Pensions Law).

Does full-time study count toward pension service?

Full-time study at the institutions specified by law may enter general service. It normally requires at least 7 actual years (Art. 37 of the Pensions Law) of work or other qualifying activity. Study does not create special service in a harmful occupation.

Does childcare leave count?

General service includes childcare leave until the child turns 3, capped at 6 years in total for all such periods (para. 44 of the Pension Regulation). It does not count as special preferential service.

What if the employer was liquidated and no records remain?

Contact the successor and archive first. If documents cannot be obtained because of complete liquidation or missing archive data, service may be established by a court (para. 69 of the Pension Regulation). Witnesses cannot prove the amount of earnings.

Will work after the award increase the pension?

Usually not for an ordinary old-age pension because post-award work does not enter its calculation. The working pensioner nevertheless receives the pension in full (para. 1 of Decree No. UP-5597). To add continued work before the award, the person must timely refuse the proactive pension.

Does a self-employed year count without social tax?

No. To build voluntary pensionable service, a self-employed person must pay at least 440.000 (Art. 408 of the Tax Code) for the year. Check both registration and the payment shown in the government system.