From 2025 pensions may 'burn out': how to avoid this.

Ukrainian pensioners are expecting significant changes in pension payments from 2025.

An expert in pension law, journalist Serhiy Korobkin, spoke about this in his video published on October 14, 2024.

According to the draft state budget for 2025, if a pensioner does not withdraw money from the pension card for a long period or does not undergo timely identification, their pension may be suspended and all funds received on the card in previous months may be written off.

'If a person does not collect their pension at the post office, does not withdraw from the pension card, and does not spend money online for six months, meaning there is actually no money movement for half a year, then the pension payment is suspended until the circumstances are clarified,' explained Korobkin.

Serhiy Korobkin mentioned that since 2014, internally displaced persons (IDPs) have had special conditions for receiving pensions, particularly requiring identification every six months. However, during quarantine and martial law, these requirements were relaxed.

According to the budget bill for 2025, Oschadbank must return the balance of funds on IDP accounts to the Pension Fund formed at the beginning of 2025.

The expert emphasizes the importance of timely identification and regular use of the pension card. He recommends undergoing identification in advance or at least withdrawing a certain amount of money, or making store purchases with the card to create at least some account activity.

Serhiy Korobkin also described various ways to pass identification: a personal visit to the local PFU office, authorization in the personal electronic account on the Pension Fund's web portal of electronic services, identification via video conferencing, or personal visits to Oschadbank.

For pensioners who are abroad, the expert recommends obtaining a document confirming their life from a foreign diplomatic institution and sending it along with an identification application to the Pension Fund.