Pension Indexation 2025: Who Did Not Receive the Promised Increase and Why Allowances Are Being Reduced.

Pension expert Sergey Korobkin analyzed the results of the pension indexation in March and explained why many Ukrainians did not receive the promised increase of 11.5% or received it in a smaller amount.

According to the expert, despite the statements of Prime Minister Denis Shmygal that 'the government has fulfilled its obligations and indexed pensions, which increased by 11.5% for over 10 million Ukrainians', the real situation looks different.

We know that not the entire pension increases by 11.5%, but only its basic amount, and sometimes it is not even the pension itself, but the salary that is used in the calculation formula. That is, far from everyone received exactly 11.5%,'

explains Korobkin.

According to actual data, the average pension compared to January increased by about 9.6%, which is significantly less than the declared figure. At the same Time, some categories of pensioners did not feel any increase at all.

Who Did Not Receive the Pension Increase

The resolution on indexation does not apply to so-called social pensions, which are state social assistance paid by social protection agencies. It remained at the level of the subsistence minimum – 2361 UAH.

Additionally, the minimum pension is received by those who continue to work – it is also 2361 UAH.

There are a lot of messages from readers of the 'On Pension' newspaper and viewers of our YouTube channel, with some not receiving any increase at all, while others received much less than expected,

notes the expert.

Problems with the Indexation Mechanism

The main problem, according to Korobkin, lies in the imperfect mechanism of indexation itself. The average salary indicator for Ukraine over the 3 years preceding the year of application for pension assignment is used for pension determination.

Under the same conditions with equal coefficients of service and salary, the pension will be higher for someone who retired later,

explains the expert.

For those retiring in 2025, the indicator for the years 2022-2024 is used – 15,057 UAH. And for those who retired before 2018, they initially took only 3,764 UAH. After several indexations, this figure was increased to 8,913 UAH, which is almost twice as low as for new retirees.

Pensioners from 2020 Suffered the Most

The problem particularly affected those who retired in 2020.

For pensions assigned in 2020, these pensioners were simply forgotten or thought they would be properly indexed. But that did not happen, as they say, something went wrong,

states Korobkin.

The Supreme Court also recognizes that the indexation of pensions assigned in recent years is incorrect. But if one doesn't go to court, the Pension Fund, at best, will add a comforting 100 UAH, which will then disappear unnoticed.

How They Give with One Hand and Take with the Other

The expert provided a telling example from Kirovohrad region. A pensioner over 80 years old was assigned a pension of 10,340 UAH after indexation. Its basic amount increased by the promised 11.5%, and the pension rose by approximately 935 UAH.

But at the same time, his age allowance was cut. Before indexation, he received an increase of 570 UAH in his pension, and now, after indexation, it decreased to only 356 UAH.

This was done so that the total pension with allowances did not exceed the specified amount of 10,340 UAH,

explains Korobkin. This situation applies to all receiving age allowances whose pensions approach the limit value.

According to the expert's assessment, in one way or another, most pensioners have been deprived in their own way: some because they retired earlier, and others – on the contrary, because they retired later.