25 Years of Service, but the Pension Surprised: Expert Explained the Unexpected Reason.

The Ukrainian newspaper 'On Pension' received an inquiry from a 70-year-old retiree Elizaveta from the Odessa region, who was interested in the size of her pension. Despite her long work experience in harmful working conditions and a recent age increase, her pension does not exceed 3000 hryvnias.

'If you subtract the new 300 hryvnias and 205 hryvnias for indexation from my pension as of March 1, it turns out that after 25.5 years of service, I earned just over 2200 hryvnias,' the retiree writes.

According to pension expert Serhiy Korobkin, the size of the pension depends on the ratio of the employee's earnings to the average salary in the country for the relevant period. '25 years of service under current rules allow for a pension of only 25% of earnings,' explains Korobkin.

Starting March 1, 2024, the minimum pension payment amount for non-working pensioners will be 2725 hryvnias, while the smallest pension is 2361 hryvnias. To receive an increased payment of 3370 hryvnias, one must reach 80 years with 20-25 years of service or have 30-35 years of service for women and men, respectively.

Korobkin paid special attention to the issue of privileged service: 'Work on list No.2 is always counted in service at a single rate. Such privileged service gives the right to early retirement, but does not affect its calculation, unlike service under No.1.'

Let us remind you that the minimum pension in Ukraine will remain at 2361 hryvnias for people without the necessary service. The minimum living wage will be 2920 hryvnias, and the minimum salary will be 8000 hryvnias. President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that there are funds for pension payments.

In the context of these events, experts note that the distribution of pensioners by pension size is very uneven. Approximately half of people receive pensions of 3000-4000 hryvnias, and there are over a million individuals receiving pensions over 10,000 hryvnias.

Future Pension Reform

It is worth noting that the Cabinet of Ministers plans to carry out a large-scale pension reform starting July 1, 2025. According to the Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovich, the reform will allow citizens to receive a pension of no less than 60% of their earnings, which corresponds to European standards. Notably, changes regarding special pensions are being prepared simultaneously.

By July 1, 2025, the government must develop a special pension reform project regarding their recalculation. Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk, the first deputy head of the parliamentary committee on social policy, emphasized that the current minimum pension amount remains very low considering the inflation rates and rising prices for essential goods and services.