After the death of a person who had been granted a pension for special merits to Ukraine, the question of further payments to their family remains one of the most complex in pension legislation. According to a clarification based on the Law of Ukraine “On Pensions for Special Merits to Ukraine,” the right to a portion of the deceased pensioner's supplement is granted not to all relatives, but exclusively to non-working family members as defined by law. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the current regulatory framework and clarifications from the Verkhovna Rada.

Who exactly is entitled to the payment

The key condition is the non-working status of the family member. The law clearly limits the circle of persons who may claim the supplement: it refers to those categories of relatives that are directly named in the legislation. This does not extend to all family members without exception. The supplement is added to the pension for loss of a breadwinner or to the supplement that could have been granted to the deceased during their lifetime. The size of the supplement depends directly on the number of non-working family members left in their care.

Size of the supplement: from 20 to 40 percent

The Verkhovna Rada's clarification states that pensions for special merits may be granted on several grounds: by age, due to disability, for loss of a breadwinner, and for length of service. The size of the supplement itself depended on the specific award, rank, or other ground on which the pension was granted. The document lists various supplement sizes — from 20% to 40% of the subsistence minimum for non-working persons. For certain categories, different percentages are provided depending on awards, ranks, sports achievements, and other grounds for granting.

Procedure for granting and protection against reduction

The legislation contains a protective mechanism: if, after recalculation, the size of the supplement becomes smaller than previously established, the payment must be kept at the previous level. In cases where a person was entitled to several supplements on different grounds, only one was granted — the one that was larger in size. To apply for the pension, it is necessary to submit an application and documents confirming the special merits and work experience. For certain cases, additional documents on disability and salary were required. Applications should be submitted to the relevant labor and social protection authorities or to the Pension Fund of Ukraine — depending on which body handled pension grants in the specific region.

Context: changes in pension payments from October 2026

A practical aspect of receiving pension payments deserves separate attention. As RBC-Ukraine previously reported, from 1 October 2026, JSC “Ukreksimbank” will cease paying pensions and social benefits to cards. Pensioners who used the services of this bank need to change the details for receiving funds. If a person does not manage to do so, the accrued funds are not lost: the Pension Fund of Ukraine is obliged to route such payments through “Ukrposhta” branches. This circumstance is especially important for relatives of deceased pensioners who are applying for the right to the supplement during the transition period.

Financial coverage of pension obligations

At the macro level, Ukraine's pension obligations are underpinned by international financing. On 22 September 2026, Ukraine received 841 million dollars from the World Bank under guarantees of the Government of Canada. The funds are intended for social payments, in particular to cover the state budget's pension expenditures. This confirms that even under budget constraints, the state maintains its obligations to pensioners and their families, including payments of supplements for special merits.