Ukraine is preparing to introduce a new pension payment system: what you need to know
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is working on a reform that envisages the introduction of three types of pension payments. The new system is expected to reduce the imbalance in pension amounts for the same length of service and income level.
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine .
Minister of Social Policy, Family and National Unity Denys Ulyutin explained that the reform involves dividing pension payments into three components: solidarity, professional and accumulative. According to him, currently people with the same length of service and salary can receive different pensions, and the three-tier system should fix this.
The government plans to increase the solidarity pension based on the amount of contributions to the solidarity system. The minister noted that with this approach, for example, the pension of a teacher with 40 years of experience could increase by 1.5–2 times.
“The more a person works, even for an average salary, he will still receive a normal pension in the end. And it will be much higher than now,” said Denis Ulyutin.
A basic payment is also envisaged for people who do not have sufficient insurance experience. According to the minister, its amount will be determined by the budget for the relevant year and should cover the basic subsistence minimum.
“It will be determined by the budget for the relevant year and ideally should provide a basic subsistence minimum,” said Denys Ulyutin, adding that the current subsistence minimum of 2,595 hryvnias does not reflect real needs.
According to the government’s plans, the professional or special pension will be preserved, but payments will not be made from the solidarity system. These are pensions for people with preferential service who retire before the general retirement age.
“You can retire early if you have a preferential length of service, but until the general retirement age you will not receive anything from the solidarity system. Payments will only be from the professional part,” the minister said.
He clarified that the transition from special pensions to occupational pensions could take at least 13 years if the reform is launched in 2026 or 2027.
The third element of the reform is a voluntary funded pension . According to Ulyutin, it will not be mandatory, and citizens will be able to decide for themselves whether to make additional contributions, in particular starting from 2027.
“You can refuse this. But this will lead to your pension being at a lower level,” explained Denis Ulyutin.
By the way, in 2026, Ukraine will change the requirements for the minimum insurance period required for the assignment of an old-age pension . Since the norm increases every year, future pensioners should check now whether they have enough years of service.
As a reminder, in 2026 the Cabinet of Ministers plans to increase minimum pensions and index them. However, even after the increase, the average amount of payments in Ukraine will remain one of the lowest in Europe.
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