Starting January 1, 2027, women over 55 and men over 60 would be eligible for reduced working hours while retaining their average pay, under a draft presidential decree on pension system reform.
The proposal also includes changes for self-employed workers and the phase-out of social tax exemptions.
Fixed social tax rate for self-employed workers
Beginning in 2027, self-employed individuals would face a fixed social tax payment schedule, with the option to pay in installments throughout the year. Of the social tax collected from self-employed workers, 10 percent would go to the State Social Insurance Fund, funding maternity and temporary disability benefits for this group.
As of July this year, the country had 2.8 million registered self-employed workers, of whom roughly 800,000 — about 30 percent — voluntarily paid pension contributions. Currently, a self-employed person can pay a single base pension calculation unit, or 412,000 soums, to earn one year of work record toward a pension. Under the new rules, these payments would become mandatory.
Social tax exemptions to be phased out
The draft also proposes ending new social tax exemptions for businesses and organizations, with existing exemptions set to expire January 1, 2030.
The standard social tax rate for employers currently stands at 12 percent, though reduced rates or full exemptions apply to a number of companies. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has reported that more than 65,000 businesses received social tax exemptions worth 3.2 trillion soums in 2025, with some fully exempt and others paying a reduced rate of 1 percent.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance is required to draft amendments to laws governing state and funded pension provision, as well as the Tax Code, by December 1, 2026.
"Pensiya" mobile app in the works
The reform also calls for launching a mobile app called "Pensiya," which would let citizens access pension-related government services online, check their work record and income history, calculate projected pension amounts, and manage their pension savings. The app is slated to launch in April 2027.
As previously reported, the same reform package proposes raising the retirement age by three months annually starting in 2028, reaching 63 for men and 58 for women by 2039. The minimum work record required to qualify for a pension would also increase, from 7 to 15 years, by 2034.
Starting in 2027, the earnings period used to calculate pensions would be gradually extended to 20 years, excluding the lowest-earning 10 percent of that period from the calculation, while the state begins matching voluntary pension contributions.
