Publication date: 24.04.2024
The period of caring for sick relatives can be counted as a pensionable service period for Ukrainians.
Thus, even without working anywhere, they can add to their pensionable service record to be able to retire on time.
To be eligible for an old-age pension and retire on time, you need to have a sufficient number of years of insurance coverage. However, not everyone is able to accumulate the required number of years, as some people have to take care of relatives who need round-the-clock care. Sometimes this care can last for years.
However, there is a way out of such difficult circumstances. You can formalize care for a relative. Then this period will be included in the caregiver's insurance record, and in due time he or she will have the necessary number of years to retire on time.
First of all, you need to know who is eligible for caregiving. The following citizens are eligible:
- people with disabilities of group I
- Children with disabilities
- Elderly people with cognitive impairments (e.g., memory, attention, thinking)
- People with incurable diseases who are unable to move freely;
- seriously ill children who do not yet have a disability group.
To arrange care for a sick relative, you need to follow a certain sequence of actions
First of all, the person in need of care should visit a family doctor. The doctor will give him or her a referral to an advisory commission. The commission, in turn, must give a medical opinion that the person really needs outside help and round-the-clock care.
Having this conclusion of the commission, the caregiver must apply to the ASC or local social service. In addition to the medical report, the following package of documents is required:
- if the person to be cared for has legal capacity, his or her consent is required;
- passport and taxpayer registration number of the applicant and the person who needs care
- a certificate of registration of the person's place of residence;
- a declaration of income and property status of the applicant;
- a document confirming the need for permanent care.
Based on all the documents submitted, representatives of the social service must make a decision on the applicant's appointment as a caregiver for a helpless relative.
And now, according to Iryna Kovpashko, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Pension Fund of Ukraine, who will have their pension payments changed?
Minimum pension increase
Starting January 1, 2024, the minimum pension increased from UAH 2093 to UAH 2361. As explained by Iryna Kovpashko, this applies to people who have reached the age of 65, are not working and have a full insurance record - 30 years for women and 35 years for men:
"For such pensioners, the minimum pension cannot be less than 40% of the minimum wage. Since the minimum wage increased on January 1, we have recalculated the minimum pension amount for 65-year-old pensioners accordingly. This is an additional guarantee stipulated by the law, which we fulfilled by providing new increased payments in January."
She also added that the recalculation is done automatically, so there is no need to provide additional documents to the Pension Fund.
"We classify it as a scheduled recalculation, which is applied to everyone as a guarantee defined by law. The only case when it is necessary to apply to the Pension Fund is if a person has received additional documents about his or her length of service. The right to a pension depends on the length of the insurance period, and the amount of the pension also depends on how long a person has had the insurance period."
Pension indexation
Pensions are expected to be indexed in Ukraine starting in March 2024. A point system will be introduced in the calculation of pensions. It will equalize the imbalance between pensioners who have retired long ago and those who have recently retired. Accordingly, payments to pensioners who retired earlier will be brought up to the "modern level."
"The law contains a provision that indexation takes place every year from March 1. To carry out such indexation, we need to get a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers that will determine the indexation coefficient. The amount of the increase and the actual recalculation will depend on the approval of the relevant indicator," said the Deputy Chairman of the Pension Fund.
Granting old-age pensions
The right to receive an old-age pension depends on the length of insurance record upon reaching a certain age - 60, 63 or 65 years.
In 2024, people who are
- 60 years of age - at least 31 years of insurance record
- 63 years of age - at least 21 years of insurance record
- 65 years of age - from 15 to 21 years of insurance experience.
"If a person has worked and paid contributions from his or her official salary that do not meet the minimum contribution, his or her pension will always be higher than the minimum. With a minimum length of service and a minimum salary, a minimum pension is guaranteed. If the length of service is longer, if the salary is higher, then the person will receive a higher pension.
At the same time, a number of other guarantees are triggered, one of which is guarantees for 65-year-olds," explained Iryna Kovpashko.
As a reminder, Ukrainians who lack insurance record are entitled to a social pension, but not all of them.
Therefore, it is necessary to make a legal analysis of the situation, legal analysis of the situation, request a legal opinion, and a legal opinion or a legal conclusion,analysis of the situation by a lawyer :Writing a lawyer's request .
