Old-Age Pension for Migrants: Restricting Policy, Expert Imagination, and Migrant’s Coping Strategies

Large group of migrants from Ukraine and Vietnam settled in Czech Republic, Central Europe as work-related migrants in the late 1980‘ and 1990‘. Given the post-socialist and Central-European context of Czech Republic, it is the first noticeable cohort of migrants aging in place in the country. Situation of elderly migrants is discussed in a context where the public opinion towards migration is rather negative. When reflecting on migrants’ deservingness, Czech people consider e.g. the ability to work (as employee or self-employed) gender or vulnerability (Rapoš-Božič, Klvaňová, Jaworsky 2023). An image of elderly migrant is thus a challenge not only to public opinion, but also to policies and experts.

The economic situation of migrants from Vietnam and Ukraine in older age might be more precarious than situation of born Czechs because of exclusionary mechanisms of the old-age pensions. In order to be attributed an old-age pension, the Czech system requires in most cases 35 years of social security payments and social insurance from other states can be used only on basis of specific international treaties. I analyse the interplay between legal conditions for obtaining old-age pensions, the imagination of experts in the field of migration and/or aging, and strategies described by the migrants themselves.

I conclude that even if older people with migration background once might have been perceived as well-integrated, the old-age pensions mechanisms underline the differences. Expert use contrasting ideas on migrant's culture when approving or disapproving the policies. For example, an imagination of caring and close Vietnamese family is used for defending non-existence of international treaty on social protection with Vietnam which leaves many elderly Vietnamese without their own resources. Limited access to old-age pensions and marginalised position also stimulates older migrants‘ agency as they mobilize other accessible resources of transnational social protection, e.g. transnational lifestyle.