State assistance to persons not entitled to a pension: what the law determines and how to act

In recent years, the number of people who have reached retirement age, but have not acquired the necessary insurance experience to receive a pension, has increased significantly in Ukraine. In many cases, we are talking about the generation that worked in the unstable 1990s, when official employment was often impossible and salaries were paid “in envelopes”. An additional complication was missing archives, liquidated enterprises, dishonesty of personnel services and lack of documentary confirmation of seniority. People who have worked all their lives today are left without the main source of livelihood in old age. Legislation provides certain mechanisms of social assistance for such persons, but these mechanisms are difficult to understand without professional legal support.

That is why the editors of IA “FACT” turned to the specialized lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” bar association to find out how the system of assistance to those who do not have the right to a pension functions, what are the legal grounds for receiving payments, what the amounts of assistance can be and how to issue the relevant status.

Indeed, more and more ordinary citizens are currently thinking about what kind of pension they will have in old age. These considerations are facilitated by the economic situation in the country and the understanding that the state budget is in such a state that payments close to the European ones can be expected. However, the age of many citizens physically does not allow them to fundamentally change their fate and country, and therefore more and more people are thinking about what exactly they will receive when they are no longer able to work at all.

According to Art. 26 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory State Pension Insurance”, the required length of insurance service is 32 years for the appointment of a pension upon reaching the age of 60 in 2025. If a person has a shorter insurance period, for example, from 22 to 32 years, he will be entitled to an old-age pension when he reaches the age of 63, if he has an insurance period of 15 to 22 years – at the age of 65. It is possible to acquire the right to a pension by age before reaching the age of 63 and 65 (depending on the amount of insurance experience, which is not enough), provided that a person completes the required experience or pays a voluntary single contribution for the relevant period.

However, there are rare cases when a person has not only 15 years of work experience, but even 10, and understands that even if he officially starts working now, he still will not have 20 years of insurance experience at the time of retirement. Sometimes the impossibility of continuing to work is due to the state of health or circumstances that have developed at the current moment (for example, the lack of work in this area). In this case, it is important to know that if a person has less than 15 years of experience, at the age of 65 he will be entitled to receive state social assistance instead of pension payments (the so-called old-age social pension).

Social pension for old age without work experience is recalculated every six months, taking into account property changes and average monthly total income. In order to receive a social pension, a person submits an application and the necessary package of documents to the social protection body at the registered place of residence or the place of actual residence. The decision to grant a social pension or to refuse to grant it is made by the social protection body within ten calendar days from the date of the application for its appointment. The body of social protection of the population shall notify the person who applied for its appointment in writing of the refusal to grant a social pension within five days from the date of the decision.

The application and documents for receiving a social pension are submitted:

• the person of the subject of administrative service provision:
• through authorized persons of the executive body of the village, settlement, city council of the relevant territorial community;
• officials of the administrative services center;
• by mail or in electronic form through the official website of the Ministry of Social Policy or the information systems of executive authorities and local self-government bodies integrated with it, or the Unified state web portal of electronic services (if technically possible).

The applicant can receive the results of the service in person or through a legal representative, by mail to the address indicated when submitting the application (by registered mail) or by e-mail.

Note that the grounds for refusing to grant a social pension are as follows:

1. A citizen works, conducts other activities related to income generation.
2. A second apartment (house) is owned by a person or members of his family, provided that the total area of ​​the dwelling exceeds 21 square meters. meter per family member and an additional 10.5 square meters. meter per family, or more than one car, other vehicle (mechanism).
3. According to the results of a sample survey of the material and living conditions of the family, it was found that the person has additional sources of livelihood, not specified in the declaration of income and property (renting or leasing a residential premises (house) or its part; one or more family members work without registration of employment relations in the established order; the possibility of obtaining income from keeping livestock, poultry, other animals; income from folk crafts, use of available agricultural machinery, trucks, minibuses etc.).
4. The average monthly combined family income per person for the previous six months exceeds 100 percent of the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost their ability to work.
5. A person or members of his family during the 12 months prior to applying for temporary assistance purchased a plot of land, an apartment (house), a car, another vehicle (mechanism), building materials, other durable goods or paid for services (one time) for the construction, repair of an apartment (house) or car, another vehicle (mechanism), telephone (including mobile) communication, except for housing and communal services within the social standard of housing and social standards for the use of housing and communal services and medical services related to the maintenance of life, for an amount that on the date of purchase (payment) exceeds 50,000. UAH
6. The person receives a pension or state social assistance, which is assigned in accordance with the Laws of Ukraine “On state social assistance to persons with disabilities from childhood and disabled children” or “On state social assistance to persons who do not have the right to a pension and persons with disabilities.”

In order to receive a social pension, a person must submit to the social protection body:

• statement;
• a passport of a citizen of Ukraine and a document certifying the registration of a person in the State Register of natural persons – taxpayers (taxpayer card), or data on the registration number of the taxpayer’s registration card from the State Register, entered in the passport of a citizen of Ukraine or the birth certificate (except for persons who, due to their religious beliefs, refuse to accept the registration number of the taxpayer’s registration card and have notified the relevant supervisory authority about it and have a mark in passports);
• a certificate of existing insurance experience, issued by the bodies of the Pension Fund of Ukraine;
• declaration of income and property status (filled out on the basis of income certificates of each family member) for the last six calendar months preceding the month of application for temporary assistance;
• a copy of the decision on the appointment of a guardian (for a person who is recognized as incapable).

At the same time, information about the composition of the family of the person who applied for temporary assistance is indicated in the income and property declaration. If a person applies for a social pension at a place other than his registered place of residence, the social protection authorities of the population check information about his non-receipt of such assistance at his registered place of residence using information systems. At the same time, it should be remembered that the responsibility for the reliability of the provided information rests with the person who applied for temporary assistance.

There is another important point in this matter. The size of the social pension is defined as the difference between the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost working capacity and the average monthly total family income per person for the previous six months, but cannot exceed 100 percent of the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost working capacity.

The family includes:

• husband, wife, children, including adopted children, under the age of 18 who are dependent on them;
• children – students of institutions of higher education of I-IV levels of accreditation and institutions of professional (vocational and technical) education with full-time education under the age of 23 who do not have their own families, including those who receive a scholarship, regardless of where they live (with their parents or are studying in another settlement);
• persons who live together as a family, but are not married to each other or in any other marriage, connected by common life, have mutual rights and obligations.

At the same time, the family does not include:

• parents, grandfather, grandmother, brothers, sisters;
• parents deprived of parental rights;
• guardians, custodians and members of their families;
• children who are in full state support;
• children under guardianship or care.

If a person believes that the refusal to grant a social pension is illegal, he can file a corresponding claim with the district administrative court. Currently, the minimum amount of the social pension is UAH 3,038.

If it is difficult for a person to meet all the requirements for receiving a social pension, there is another way – buying a pension. The following categories of people can buy it:

• those who work abroad, but want to receive a pension in Ukraine;
• those who are going to retire, but do not have enough experience to receive it;
• those who have a low level of official income and want to increase the size of their pension.

Ukrainians over the age of 16 can also buy seniority – both insured and uninsured, you can buy seniority both for yourself and for another person, if she is not a pensioner.

In order to acquire insurance experience in Ukraine, the Pension Fund offers to conclude an agreement on voluntary participation in the pension insurance system.

This can be done in person by visiting a branch of the PFU, or even online – through the web portal of electronic services of the PFU according to the following algorithm:

• enter the personal account of the PFU – for this you will need a qualified electronic signature, Diya.signature or using the GOV.ID system;
• go to the “Communication with PFU” section and click “Voluntary Participation Agreement”;
• enter the data of the beneficiary of contributions to the PFU (name, tax number, passport series and number, date of birth);
• if the person will pay contributions for himself, then click “I want to pay contributions for myself” and specify the necessary information;
• consent to data processing and confirm the entered data.

Next, you need to click the “Sign and pay” button and sign the contract using a qualified electronic signature (QES). Contributions can be paid via “Portmone” or payment order.

The minimum insurance contribution in 2025 (based on the amount of the minimum wage (8,000 UAH) and the amount of the single contribution to the mandatory state social insurance (22%) is UAH 1,760. This amount can be paid by a person if he voluntarily contributes for the future (for those who have not yet reached retirement age). In the event that he wishes to voluntarily pay (one time) a single contribution for the period from January 1, 2004, when she did not work (that is, for the past time for those who have reached or almost reached retirement age), a corresponding agreement is concluded and a single contribution is paid, which, for each month of insurance experience, cannot be less than the minimum contribution at the time of concluding the specified contract, multiplied by a factor of 2, i.e. not less than UAH 3,520.

Therefore, persons who have not acquired the right to a pension due to the lack of the necessary insurance experience do not remain completely outside the scope of social protection. The legislation provides for the possibility of obtaining state social assistance based on age, as well as legal ways of confirming work experience with alternative documents or through a court. We recommend that you check the available documents in advance, contact the social security authorities for consultation and official confirmation of your situation. In cases of refusal, you should seek a written decision and, if necessary, seek legal assistance from lawyers. Timely response and proper documentation is the key to maintaining a minimum level of financial support in old age.