BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, October 1. Kyrgyzstan is building a network of international social security agreements that allow its citizens to receive pensions earned abroad, a critical development for a nation with a significant migrant workforce.
According to Gulnura Jumataeva, Deputy Chair of the Social Fund, these agreements now extend to several of the country's key economic partners, ensuring that years of contributions made while working overseas are not lost upon a worker's return home, Trend reports.
The foundation of this system is a multilateral pact among the five member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
"If our citizens worked officially in any of these countries and made contributions, then after returning to their homeland, that country will export the pension to them through the Social Fund, and vice versa," Jumataeva explained.
The framework is rapidly expanding beyond the EAEU. A new bilateral agreement with Türkiye took effect in 2025. Furthermore, agreements are being finalized with other major destinations for Kyrgyz labor:
A deal with China has been ratified and is slated to become operational soon.
While not a full pension agreement, South Korea allows workers to claim their accumulated pension savings as a lump sum upon departure.
Negotiations are reportedly underway with Uzbekistan and a number of European countries.
The urgency of these agreements is underscored by migration data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). As of the end of 2024, hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz citizens were working abroad, with the largest populations in:
Russia: 379,949
Kazakhstan: ~70,000
USA: ~40,000
Türkiye: ~32,000
South Korea: ~17,000
Germany: ~15,000
United Arab Emirates: ~10,000
This data reveals a significant coverage gap. While agreements are in place or imminent with Russia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and South Korea, there are currently no such pension treaties with the United States, Germany, or the United Arab Emirates—countries hosting a combined 65,000 Kyrgyz migrants. This leaves a substantial portion of the diaspora without a clear path to reclaiming their pension contributions from those nations.
For eligible retirees in Kyrgyzstan, the process is streamlined: they need only apply to the Social Fund, which then manages all international coordination to secure the payments.
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