A woman was unable to receive her retirement pension due to an error in her employment record. Here’s what the court decided.

During the processing of the employment record book issued in the name of a woman, an error was made in the spelling of her patronymic. As a result, she was denied the right to apply for and receive an age pension. This is stated in the ruling of the Zmiiv District Court of the Kharkiv region, published on January 17, 2025.

In September 2024, the woman approached the territorial body of the Pension Fund with a request for the appointment of an age pension. On November 6, 2024, she received a decision from the head of the Pension Recalculation Department No. 2 of the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kyiv, which stated that as a result of reviewing the documents attached to her pension application, the periods of work according to the employment record book dated April 16, 1984, were not included in her insurance record, as the patronymic on the title page of the mentioned employment record book in Russian does not match the patronymic provided in the applicant's passport data.

"The Main Directorate of the Pension Fund operates only within the powers provided by the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws. According to paragraph 26 of the 'Procedure for confirming available work experience for pension appointments in the absence of an employment record book or relevant entries in it,' approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on August 12, 1993, No. 637, if the name, patronymic, and surname indicated in the documents confirming work experience do not match those in the passport or birth certificate of the person, the fact of the document's ownership by this person may be established in court. The Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region has no grounds to accept the employment record book dated April 16, 1984, issued in the name of the plaintiff, as the patronymic does not correspond to the passport data," - stated the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region.

What was the court's decision?

The woman's claim was partially satisfied. The court decided to establish the fact of her ownership of the employment record book filled out on April 16, 1984, in Russian.

"The court established that from the provided employment record book, it is clear that there is an error in the spelling of the applicant's patronymic on the first page in Russian, which necessitated the appeal to the court with a request to establish the fact of ownership of the legal document. The fact for which the applicant is requesting has legal significance for her, as it ensures the realization of her pension rights. Under these circumstances, the citizen's request to establish the fact of ownership of the legal document is justified and should be satisfied," - emphasized the court.