Basic Social Assistance: Lawyers Explain the Government’s New Approach to Calculating Benefits

Since July, a new approach to the calculation of social assistance began to operate in Ukraine. Instead of several separate payments, one basic one is being introduced, which should cover different categories of vulnerable people: low-income families, people with disabilities, single pensioners, and those who cannot work. The government promises to simplify the system, but questions have increased in society – what exactly is being merged, how are the conditions changing, and will someone lose what they already received?

In the professional environment, such unification attracts increased attention due to the complexity of adapting legislative norms and the need to protect the rights of recipients of assistance during the transition period. The lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association, with whom our editors spoke, make it possible to gain a deeper understanding of what exactly will change for aid recipients in practice, citing new legal norms.

From July 1, in accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 371 dated March 25, 2025, a new type of social support was introduced – basic social assistance, which aims to combine several types of payments. The purpose of this pilot project is to provide basic social assistance to ensure state support for low-income families. Basic social assistance is assigned to a family and is paid to one of its members who applied for its appointment for a period of six months with automatic extension of the payment of such assistance for the next period, but no longer than during the period of implementation of the experimental project.

It should be noted that the basic social assistance assigned to a family can be paid in equal installments to each adult person from among the family members at their request. It can be obtained instead of the following types of state aid:

• state social assistance to low-income families;
• child support for single mothers;
• assistance for children raised in large families;
• temporary state assistance to children whose parents evade payment of alimony, are unable to support the child or their place of residence is unknown;
• state social assistance to persons who do not have the right to a pension and persons with disabilities.

From October 1, 2025, all other persons who meet the requirements and criteria defined by the Procedure for the Implementation of the Experimental Project on the Provision of Basic Social Assistance, who do not receive the listed types of assistance, will be able to receive this assistance. Please note that recipients of such benefits have the right to switch to basic social assistance, and not to receive several benefits at the same time.

Persons who:

• are citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons permanently residing on the territory of Ukraine, persons recognized in Ukraine as refugees or persons in need of additional protection;
• are not in the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, included in the list of territories on which hostilities are (were) conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, for which the end date of the temporary occupation has not been determined;
• are not abroad;
• have a low level of income due to circumstances beyond their control;
• meet the “property” criteria for assigning this type of assistance.

It is worth knowing that the amount of basic social assistance is not set in a fixed amount, it is determined according to a special algorithm as the difference between the total amount of the basic amount for each family member and the average monthly total income of the family. That is, it depends on how much the family’s actual income is less than the conditional estimated needs indicator – that is, the amount that the family should receive according to the standards.

The size of the basic amount is UAH 4,500, but it is calculated differently for each family member:

1. For the first member of the family, each child under 18 years of age and persons with disabilities of the I or II groups — 100% of the basic allowance, i.e. 4,500 UAH.
2. For each subsequent family member — 70% of the basic amount, i.e. UAH 3,150.
3. If there are pensioners or people of retirement age in the family who do not receive a pension due to lack of experience, the amount for them depends on how many years of insurance experience they have:

• less than 10 years — UAH 2,385 (53%);
• from 10 to 20 years — UAH 2,790 (62%);
• from 20 to 30 years old — UAH 3,150 (70%);
• 30 or more years — UAH 3,960 (88%).

In addition, a family is a group of persons who live together, are connected by common life, and have mutual rights and obligations. A single person has the rights of a family member. The family includes:

• husband, wife;
• minor children and children temporarily placed in a family who were left without parental care under the age of 18, as well as adult children studying full-time or dual education in institutions of general secondary, professional (vocational-technical), professional pre-higher, higher education (in particular, in the period between the completion of a certain level of education and enrollment for another level of education, provided that such a period does not exceed four months) and do not have their own families, – until the end of educational institutions, but not longer than until they reach the age of 23;
• unmarried adult children who are recognized as persons with disabilities since childhood of the I and II groups or persons with disabilities of the I group and live with their parents;
• disabled parents of the husband and wife who live with them;
• a person who lives with a single person with a disability of group I and takes care of him;
• a woman and a man who live in the same family and are not married, but have children together.

At the same time, the family includes children who study full-time or dual education in institutions of general secondary, professional (vocational-technical), professional pre-higher, higher education until graduation from educational institutions, but no longer than until they reach the age of 23, regardless of their actual and/or declared/registered place of residence.

However, the family does not include persons who:

• are fully dependent on the state;
• are in captivity of the aggressor state and deprived of their personal freedom (detained, taken hostage) by the authorities of the aggressor state (its occupying administrations and armed formations), which is confirmed by information and/or documents provided by authorized state authorities, local self-government bodies, state registrars, subjects of state registration, enterprises, institutions and organizations in the order and cases determined by law,
• are considered absent by court order,
• have the legal status of persons missing under special circumstances,
• are abroad.

There are other important nuances. The composition of the family applying for basic social assistance is determined on the date of application. However, even submitting an application does not guarantee the assignment of assistance: the legislation clearly stipulates cases when basic social assistance is not assigned or paid.

First of all, assistance is not provided if, as of the beginning of the period for which income is taken into account, the family consists of able-bodied persons aged 18 to 60 who did not work, did not complete military service, did not conduct entrepreneurial or independent professional activities, did not receive full-time or dual education in general secondary, vocational (vocational-technical), professional higher education or higher education, were not registered at the employment center as unemployed or looking for work — and this situation lasted for a total of more than three months during the period for which incomes are taken into account.

This rule does not apply to persons:

– for which the single social contribution (SSC) has been paid or who have paid it themselves;
– who cared for children under three years of age, for sick children according to the established list, as well as for persons over 80 years of age;
– who provided social care services in accordance with the law;
– who are in labor relations, but for whom the ESR has not been paid due to the employer’s debt;
– who on the date of application for assistance lost their ability to work, but did not acquire the right to a pension due to lack of sufficient insurance experience.

Assistance is also not granted if family members have performed an operation for an amount exceeding UAH 100,000 within 12 months prior to the month of application or while receiving assistance. It is about:

– the purchase of a land plot, apartment or house (except for housing received or purchased at the expense of the state budget/local budget; except for housing purchased within 12 months before the appeal, which is located in the territories of hostilities, or occupied by the Russian Federation, included in the list of the Cabinet of Ministers, or was destroyed);
– purchase of other real estate, vehicle (mechanism), securities, financial instruments, virtual assets, construction materials (except for those purchased for compensation within the framework of the “eRecovery” program), durable goods (except for generators or systems that produce electricity from solar or wind energy);
– payment for any works or services, except for medical, educational and housing and communal services (within the limits of social norms and standards);
– payments related to the acquisition of property rights to real estate or transport (except for housing purchased by internally displaced persons, in the amount of up to UAH 100,000; except for objects of inheritance and gifts);
– contributions to the authorized capital of enterprises and organizations;
– charitable activity (in the form of funds transfer);
– refundable or non-refundable financial assistance, loans.

Assistance is also not granted if, within 12 months before the application or during its receipt, family members bought cash or non-cash foreign currency or bankable metals in the amount of more than 100 thousand hryvnias, namely:

1. The purchase of a plot of land, an apartment (house) (except housing received or purchased at the expense of the state or local budget; except for the purchase within 12 months before the month of application of housing (plot of land), which is located in the territories of possible hostilities, territories of active hostilities, territories of active hostilities in which state electronic information resources function or territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, included in the list of territories on which hostilities are (were) conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, if the purchase was made before the date of inclusion of such territories in the list approved in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, or housing that was destroyed), other real property, vehicles (mechanism), securities and other financial instruments, virtual, construction materials (except construction materials purchased at the expense of compensation for the restoration of certain categories of real estate objects damaged as a result of hostilities, acts of terrorism, sabotage, caused armed aggression of the Russian Federation, using the electronic public service “isRecovery”), other goods of long-term use (except for generating units that produce electrical energy from the energy of solar radiation and/or wind energy, and their components, or payment (one-time) for any work or service (except for medical, educational, and housing and communal services in accordance with the social norms of housing and social norms of housing and communal services).
2. Payment (payments) resulting from transactions that provide for the acquisition of property rights to immovable property (except housing purchased by internally displaced persons for an amount not exceeding UAH 100,000) and/or vehicles (mechanisms) (except objects of inheritance and gifts).
3. Contributions to the authorized (compounded) capital of a company, enterprise, organization;

charitable activity (exclusively in the form of payment of funds).

In addition, basic social assistance is not assigned/not paid if:

1. Individuals who are part of the family, during the 12 months before the month of application for the purpose of basic social assistance or during its receipt, carried out operations for the purchase of non-cash and/or cash foreign currency (except for currency received from charitable organizations or purchased for the payment of medical and/or educational services), as well as bank metals for a total amount exceeding 100,000 on the date of the operation. UAH
2. Persons who are part of the family, on the 1st of the month from which the basic social assistance is assigned or on the 1st of each month in which such assistance is received, have funds in the savings (deposit) bank account (accounts) in a total amount exceeding 100 thousand. hryvnias, or domestic state loan bonds for a total amount exceeding UAH 100,000. UAH
3. On the date of applying for basic social assistance, the family owns a second apartment/house, apart from housing, which is located in the territories of possible hostilities, territories of active hostilities, territories of active hostilities in which state electronic information resources function, or territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, included in the list of territories on which hostilities are (were) conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, or housing destroyed or damaged (unfit for habitation) as a result of hostilities, acts of terrorism, sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, or for other reasons, subject to the availability of relevant information in the State Register of Property Damaged and Destroyed as a result of hostilities, acts of terrorism, sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, or subject to the submission of documentary confirmation from local self-government bodies of the fact of destruction/damage of a living space (apartment, house) or living space (a part of a living space with a total area of ​​less than 13.65 square meters per family member), as well as housing received by an orphan child, a child deprived of parental care, a person from among them at the expense of the state or local budget; residential premises in dormitories; housing, which belongs to the right of joint joint or partial ownership; housing, for which the right of inheritance has been registered, provided that none of the residential premises owned, in particular, for which the right of inheritance has been registered, is not rented out, which is confirmed by the act of surveying the material and living conditions of the household/actual place of residence of the person.
4. As of the date of applying for basic social assistance, the family owns more than one car, a vehicle subject to state registration, the year of manufacture of which is less than 15 years old (except mopeds and trailers).

At the same time, vehicles received free of charge or purchased on preferential terms through the social protection bodies of the population, including at the expense of financial assistance for the purchase of a car, purchased by parents-educators of family-type children’s homes, persons with disabilities of groups I and II, as well as vehicles declared wanted in connection with illegal possession or destroyed, provided that documentary evidence is submitted, are not taken into account.

Note that alimony is not withheld from basic social assistance.

An application for a new type of social assistance can be submitted in person to the Pension Fund of Ukraine or online in electronic form using the tools of the Unified state web portal of electronic services Diya.

We recommend that you carefully familiarize yourself with the principles of providing this assistance in order to find out to what extent your family meets the existing criteria.