The Government has established uniform conditions for the payment of pensions for all citizens of Ukraine
27 March 11:49
The government has simplified the procedure for receiving pensions and insurance payments for internally displaced persons, Ukrainians abroad and in the temporarily occupied territories. This was reported by the Ministry of Social Policy, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
Previously, some categories of pensioners, namely those who received an internally displaced person (IDP) certificate before February 24, 2022, and citizens who went abroad after that date or live in the temporarily occupied territories, had a separate algorithm for receiving pension payments, which made it difficult to receive funds.
To resolve the situation, the Government has adopted changes that establish uniform conditions for the payment of pensions for all Ukrainian citizens, regardless of their location: in Ukraine, in the temporarily occupied territories or abroad.
What exactly has been changed for these pensioners
From now on, such pensioners can receive their pensions to the account of any bank in Ukraine, not just Oschadbank, as it was before.
It has also been established that in order to receive pension payments, citizens temporarily residing abroad or living in the temporarily occupied territories must undergo physical identification once a year. Physical identification must take place annually by December 31.
In addition, if pensioners reside in the temporarily occupied territories, they must make at least one financial transaction on their account every six months, provided that they have not undergone physical identification in the past six months.
Such requirements are set to confirm that a pensioner living outside the government-controlled territory of Ukraine (for example, in the temporarily occupied territories or abroad) is alive and receives pension funds from his or her card.
The Ministry of Social Policy emphasizes that pensions are paid to citizens in the temporarily occupied territories and those who have left such territories, subject to confirmation of information about the non-receipt of a pension from the Russian Federation. To do this, you need to write an application to the Pension Fund of Ukraine in any form about not receiving a pension from the Russian Federation and submit this application to the Fund.
What is physical identification and how to pass it
Physical identification is a procedure for unambiguously identifying an individual in one of the ways convenient for a person, which is carried out remotely or in person.
This can be done offline if you are in Ukraine on the government-controlled territory and have the opportunity to apply in person. Or online if you are abroad or in the temporarily occupied territories. At the same time, you need to have with you:
– An identity document (passport of a citizen of Ukraine or a foreign passport) as a recipient of the payment or as a legal representative/assistant of the recipient of the payment, in the case of a child – a birth certificate of the child.
– An account opened in any bank of Ukraine or a card to which the pension is transferred.
– Pension certificate.
Method #1. Personally visit the Pension Fund of Ukraine or the bank where the pension account is opened. Citizens abroad can personally apply to a foreign diplomatic mission of Ukraine and receive a document certifying that the person is alive. Then write an application in any form for the continuation of pension payments and send the document by mail to the Pension Fund office at the place of registration.
Method #2. Remotely log in to the Pension Fund’s electronic cabinet using “Diia.Signature” (Action ID, instructions for creating by following the link).
Method #3. Pass identification by video link, This requires:
1. Go to the Pension Fund’s electronic services portal.
2. Click on the “Identification via video conferencing” tab at the top of the screen.
3. Fill in all fields marked with an asterisk in the form that appears on the screen, namely
– enter personal data and identity document information;
– provide an e-mail address and phone number to contact a Pension Fund specialist;
– then choose a convenient way to conduct video identification via: Google Meet, Signal, Skype, Telegram, Viber, WhatsApp or Zoom;
– indicate if you need sign language interpretation or physical support from a personal assistant.
4. You also need to agree to the transfer of personal data and click “Submit Application”.
Video identification takes place no earlier than 10 business days and no later than 30 calendar days from the date of application. An employee of the Pension Fund of Ukraine will contact the applicant to agree on the time and method of video identification.
What happens if a person fails to pass physical identification
In this case, as explained by the Ministry of Social Policy, the pension will not be transferred to the bank account. After passing identification within a year, pension payments will resume from the date of termination.
The Pension Fund will decide to resume pension payments if a person has passed physical identification within a year from the date of termination. If the application is made later, the person must be identified and submit an application for pension resumption to the Pension Fund. This can be done in person or online using the Diia.Signature electronic signature.
As a reminder, according to the Pension Fund, the number of pensioners in Ukraine as of January 1, 2025 amounted to 10.344 million people, of whom 2.8 million were employed.
Starting from March 1, 2025, pensions were indexed in Ukraine and the level of minimum pension payments to certain categories of pensioners was increased. In particular, the amount of payments for persons with war-related disabilities was increased.
The pensions were recalculated using an increase factor of 1.115, meaning that the amount of the pension increase was 11.5% of the amount of the pension received. Thus, the average pension increased to UAH 6,345.
