Pension Surprises: Who Really Got Increases and How Much.

Pension expert and journalist Serhiy Korobkin discussed the situation with pension payments in Ukraine. He noted that many pensioners are not receiving the promised pension increases, although this is often mentioned in the media and official government announcements.

According to Korobkin, the reason is the confusion between the terms "allowance" and "increase" of pensions. He explained that in June, there was no planned mass increase in pensions, and the law does not provide for the recalculation of pensions for 73-year-old pensioners.

"The exception is pensioners who continue to work. Some of them had an automatic pension recalculation from April 1, and the extra payment for April and May along with the new pension amount was made in June," Korobkin noted.

However, even among working pensioners, not all received increases. According to last year's data, the pension recalculation was carried out for 650 thousand out of 2.7 million pensioners, but only 400 thousand received actual increases.

Korobkin also explained the system of age-based allowances:

• Pensioners aged 70 can be given an allowance of up to 300 hryvnias.
• At 75, another 156 hryvnias are added to the allowance, making a total of 456 hryvnias.
• At 80, another 114 hryvnias are added, making the total increase 570 hryvnias.

But the expert notes that these allowances do not always lead to a real increase in the total pension amount due to the calculation specifics. "For example, the main pension is 2500 hryvnias, 300 hryvnias are added for age, making 2800 hryvnias. And on top of that, they add to reach the minimum pension, for example, 2980 hryvnias or 3240 hryvnias, depending on the service length," Korobkin explained.

The expert urges pensioners to be cautious with news about pension increases in the media and not to blindly believe even official government announcements regarding possible recalculations. He also advises carefully checking pension statements and contacting relevant authorities for explanations if questions arise.

Let us remind you, the PFU explained the situation with the payment of pensions, subsidies, and sick leave for August.