For pensioners aged 70 and over, the state automatically increases the payment amount if it falls below a set threshold. According to RBC-Ukraine, citing the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU), such supplements are credited without an application: individuals do not need to contact the PFU to receive compensation. The mechanism triggers automatically upon reaching the appropriate age, and the final amount depends on two key factors — the pensioner's age and the duration of their insurance record. The largest payment amounts are provided for individuals over 80 years old.
How the Supplement Works and Who Qualifies
A compensatory payment is assigned if a person's pension is less than 10,340.35 hryvnias. This figure corresponds to the average salary in Ukraine for 2020 with insurance contributions paid, and the pension is calculated based on it. The calculation takes into account not only the base part, but also allowances, increases, additional pensions, targeted financial assistance, indexation, and other payments, including monthly compensation for the loss of a breadwinner due to the Chornobyl disaster. The payment is assigned from the day a person turns 70, 75, or 80, regardless of the type of pension, the law under which it was assigned, the duration of the insurance record, or employment status.
What the Payment Amount Depends On
If, even after compensation, the pension remains below a certain amount, the state pays the difference. This rule applies to those whose pension was assigned under the law "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance," and the accounted supplement is taken into account during subsequent pension recalculations. If the insurance record is less than 35 years for men and less than 30 years for women, the supplement is calculated proportionally to the record, taking the amount of 4,050 hryvnias as a base. Thus, the shorter the record, the smaller the final compensation, but the principle of automatically bringing it to the minimum level remains.
Minimum Thresholds for 75+ and 80+
For individuals over 80 with an insurance record of at least 25 years for men and at least 20 years for women, the pension payment cannot be lower than 4,213 hryvnias. For citizens aged 75 to 80, the minimum threshold is 4,050 hryvnias. These exact amounts form the "floor" of the payment for older age groups and explain why the largest increases are received by pensioners aged 80 and over. All calculations are performed automatically based on fund data, eliminating the need for a personal visit or document submission.
How to Apply for a Pension and Additional Assistance
Recall that the pension itself can be applied for online without visiting the PFU: the application is submitted on the Pension Fund's electronic services web portal, and electronic identification is required to log in. In addition, unemployed pensioners without other incomes can apply for subsidies, benefits, and other assistance, including housing subsidies for utilities and assistance for purchasing firewood and other fuel. According to the fund, the combination of these measures aims to provide elderly citizens with a basic income level without the need to personally visit institutions.
