In Ukraine, a significant pension reform is planned: the Ministry of Social Policy explained what will change

In Ukraine, a significant pension reform is planned: the Ministry of Social Policy explained what will change

Ukraine depends on the financial support of international partners, who have their own requirements, particularly regarding the minimum social standards embedded in the budget.

Ukraine plans to complete a large-scale pension reform by the end of 2024. One of the expected outcomes will be an increase in pensions for those who have been retired for a long time. This was reported by the Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych during the question hour to the government in the Verkhovna Rada, reports "Judicial-Legal Newspaper".

"We plan a comprehensive pension reform that I hope we can implement by the end of the year, and pensions will be updated, leveled, and the pension provision for those who have been receiving pensions for a long time will increase, as it is currently unbalanced," she noted.

In her opinion, this package of laws is already prepared.

"Together with the Ministry of Finance, we are exploring the latest opportunities to find the necessary resources, as there is an urgent need for funding. For a quality launch, at least 30 billion hryvnias are necessary. Currently, the biggest problem is that the pensions of teachers who retired in the 2000s and 2020s with the same insurance period differ almost twice due to the specific calculation of pensions," the Minister explained.

Oksana Zholnovych also emphasized that she considers the current social payments provided for in the budget draft "insufficient." However, she noted that the dependence of Ukraine on financial support from international partners, who set their requirements including minimum social standards embedded in the country’s budget, needs to be taken into account.

"We have agreed that this is the minimum standard confirmed by our international partners. After all, we all understand that every hryvnia covered today within the social budget is funded by our international partners," she concluded.