Ukraine’s poverty level announced: what is the minimum amount for a pensioner, a worker and a child?

In Ukraine, the minimum wage is 2,100 UAH (€43) lower than the level needed to cover basic needs. At the same time, the minimum pension is 2.8 times lower than the actual subsistence minimum for a pensioner.

The Ministry of Social Policy provided the actual subsistence minimum (based on prices as of September) in response to a media request.

The actual subsistence minimum is the amount needed to pay for basic services and goods in the consumer basket.

At the same time, pensions and wages in Ukraine are not tied to the actual subsistence minimum. The level of the actual subsistence minimum can also be used to define the poverty line. As a result:

• Ukrainians even with an average pension (6,436.79 UAH — €133) are below the poverty line (6,720 UAH — €138.5);

• Ukrainians earning the minimum wage (8,000 UAH — €165) are also below the poverty line (10,192 UAH — €210);

• A family of two adults and one child under six needs at least 27,572 UAH (€568.3) to cover basic needs.

“At the same time, we draw attention to the fact that, for determining the size of state social guarantees, the official subsistence minimum is used — its amount, according to Article 4 of the above-mentioned Law, is approved annually in the Law of Ukraine on the State Budget for the corresponding year,”
said Deputy Minister of Social Policy Tetiana Kyryenko.

From June to October, the average pension in Ukraine increased by only 26.6 UAH (€0.54) and reached 6,436.79 UAH (€132.6). Traditionally, the highest average pension is in Kyiv (8,848.19 UAH — €182), and the lowest is in Ternopil region (4,996.69 UAH — €109).

This is stated in updated data from the Pension Fund. The average pension of a retired judge (lifetime allowance) is 109,898.29 UAH (€2,265). As of June, it was 109,311.80 UAH (€2,253). Thus, while the average pension in the country grew by 26.6 UAH (€0.54), judges’ pensions increased on average by 586.49 UAH (€12).

If we look only at those who retired by age (without counting pensions for years of service), the average payment since June has increased by 15.37 UAH (€0.31) to 6,118.51 UAH (€126).

As the media reported, in 2026 Ukraine will once again tighten the conditions for retirement. Instead of 32 years of work record, as required this year, one will need at least 33 years of work experience to retire at 60.