Pension indexation won’t apply to everyone: who the government left without a penny

Ukraine’s minimum pension stands at 2,595 hryvnias, and from March 2026, payments at the subsistence minimum level will not be indexed. The government explained this by saying that pension amounts had already been revised as of January 1.

This was reported by Ukrainian Wall.

Honored Lawyer of Ukraine Maryna Stavniychuk drew attention to the fact that the sum of 2,595 hryvnias is almost 2.5 times less than the amount needed to cover basic needs. By her estimates, a pensioner requires at least 6,000–8,000 hryvnias per month for food, medicine, and utility bills.

“The state is offering 2,595 hryvnias. This is an ignoring of a person’s physiological needs,” — Maryna Stavniychuk emphasized.

The government’s official position is that pensions at the subsistence minimum level are not subject to the March indexation because “their amounts were already revised as of January 1, 2026.” Thus, the January increase is formally considered sufficient grounds for refusing an additional indexation in March.

According to the lawyer’s assessment, this approach leaves approximately half of Ukrainian pensioners — those whose payments are tied to the subsistence minimum — without a single additional penny. Stavniychuk points out that the state is effectively acknowledging 2,595 hryvnias per month as sufficient, while the real cost of living, in her words, is at least twice as high.

Ukrainian Wall previously reported that Chernobyl victims had their payments recalculated through the courts, but some of them receive only tens of hryvnias.