The dissertation is devoted to a comprehensive study of the theoretical and
practical problems of the realisation of the right to a pension in the solidarity system
of compulsory state pension insurance of Ukraine. In terms of its structure, the work
consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusions, a list of references and
appendices.
Chapter 1 analyses the scholarly approaches to the concept of “pension”,
reveals the historical dimension of this definition and outlines the essence of the
solidarity system of pension insurance. A definition of the right to a pension in the
solidarity system of compulsory state pension insurance is formulated. It is
established that application of law is the dominant form of realisation of the right to
a pension. It is substantiated that the realisation of the right to a pension in the
solidarity system is characterised by a dichotomous nature and is considered in a
narrow and a broad sense. The protective functions of a pension constitute the
conceptual basis for reforming pension legislation in the context of socio-economic
changes and the implementation of the constitutional principles of a social and legal
state, as well as the rule of law. It is emphasised that codification in the sphere of
social protection and pension provision will facilitate the effective realisation of the
right to a pension. The regulation of the conditions and procedure for realising the
right to a pension must be carried out on the basis of the principles of compulsory
state pension insurance. The vast majority of recent pension reforms in the EU are
focused on old-age pensions, which corresponds to the challenges associated with
the demographic ageing of the population and the growth of demographic
dependency ratios. The specific features of realising the right to a pension in modern
conditions are also concentrated in the area of the financial sustainability of the
pension system, which requires the coverage by social insurance of workers in nonstandard
forms of employment. It is noted that digitalisation and AI are decisive
instruments for the transformation of the mechanism of realisation of the right to a
pension in modern conditions.
The international and European standards for the realisation of the right to a
pension are studied (the international legal acts of the UN, the ILO and the Council
of Europe, and EU legislation), and the necessity of their implementation on the
basis of a human-centred approach is substantiated. It is proved that the effective
realisation of the right to a pension will be facilitated by the introduction of
international and European standards, in particular concerning the prohibition of
discrimination and the ensuring of equality of the rights of women and men, the
coordination of social security, and the formation of transparent and comprehensible
pension communication.
In Chapter 2, the realisation of the right to a pension is presented as a dynamic,
sequential process that encompasses the emergence of a subjective right, the
determination of the amount of the payment and the maintenance of its real value
over time. It is established that the emergence of the right to a pension is conditioned
by a juridical factual composition of a two-level structure. It is found that the current
model of the progressive increase in the requirements for the length of insurance
record is, in fact, a disguised mechanism for raising the retirement age. The pension
calculation formula is analysed, and a violation of the insurance principle of the
equivalence of contributions and payments is revealed. A discrepancy is established
between the subordinate (by-law) mechanism of the annual indexation of pensions
and the legislatively defined model, owing to the contradictions between them. The
concept of pension recalculation is substantiated as an independent, multi-level
mechanism for the further realisation of the right to a pension. It is emphasised that
the problems of realising the right to a pension should be considered in the aspect of
four main types of pension – old-age, disability, survivor’s (in connection with the
loss of the breadwinner) and long-service pensions. Proposals are formulated for
improving the legislation, in particular concerning the restoration of the value of the
assessment of one year of insurance record at a level that will facilitate the
determination of the pension amount at a decent level, taking into account the
constitutional guarantees of the right to social protection. An improvement of the
legislation is proposed in the part that restores the link of indexation with the
individual indicator of the average wage and establishes a single indexation
coefficient irrespective of the year in which the pension was assigned.
