Uzbekistan is proposing a comprehensive overhaul of its pension system: gradually raising the retirement age, increasing the minimum required work experience, recalculating benefit amounts, and making social tax payments mandatory for the self-employed. The Ministry of Economy and Finance disclosed details of the reform and clarified how it might affect future pensioners. The ministry emphasized that already assigned pensions and benefits will not be revised or reduced. The changes will apply only to future pension payments.
The ministry links the need for reform to demographic shifts. According to the ministry, average life expectancy in the country has risen from 67.9 to 75.4 years. The share of pensioners in the population was 11.2% in 2025 and is projected to reach 15% by 2040. Meanwhile, the current law on state pension provision was adopted back in 1993.
Currently, pension calculations consider earnings over five consecutive years within the last ten years of employment. The Ministry of Economy and Finance proposes gradually extending this period to 20 years. At the same time, the 10% of the period with the lowest earnings will be excluded from the calculation. The ministry explains that this will allow disregarding periods of illness or other circumstances that temporarily reduced a person's income. From 2028, it is also proposed to increase the maximum earnings considered for calculating a new pension from 12 times to 13 times the base pension calculation amount. In current monetary terms, this means an increase from 6 million to 6.6 million soums.
The requirement for work experience will also change. Currently, at least seven years of service is required to qualify for a pension. Starting in 2027, this figure is proposed to increase by one year annually, reaching 15 years by 2034. For citizens unable to accumulate the necessary service, it is proposed to retain the possibility of receiving an age allowance five years after reaching retirement age.
A separate block of the reform concerns the self-employed. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, there are about 5.9 million self-employed individuals in Uzbekistan. However, in 2025, only 860,000 self-employed people paid social tax. The ministry proposes making social tax payments mandatory for this category while maintaining the current rate. Currently, the annual payment is about 440,000 soums. It is proposed to allow payment in installments—for example, 36,000 soums per month. Tax payments will count toward work experience and form pension rights. Additionally, social benefits for temporary disability, pregnancy, and childbirth are proposed for the self-employed. Citizens with official income would also be allowed to voluntarily pay social tax for non-working family members. This would allow them to accumulate work experience and pension rights.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance also proposes changing the funded component of the pension system. The ministry notes that citizens currently participate weakly on a voluntary basis: in 2025, the number of such participants was about 12,500. Against this backdrop, it is proposed to revise the rules for using pension savings before reaching retirement age and the mechanism of state co-financing. These provisions are included in separate parts of the draft. Overall, the reform includes seven areas, including changes to the retirement age, calculation of payments, the social insurance system, and digitalization of pension services. The draft is not yet final. Its public discussion will last until September 30.
Source: podrobno.uz