Starting March 1, pensions in Ukraine will be increased. Find out how much the payments will rise.

In March, Ukraine will implement a pension recalculation of 11.5%. The average pension amount will rise from 5,789 UAH to 6,345 UAH. According to the government's resolution on pension indexing, increased payments will be received by individuals who retired due to age before December 31, 2024.

Decision on Pension Indexing 2025: Who Will Benefit

"The decision on how much to increase or index pensions was calculated based on two indicators: the rise in prices or the average inflation rate for 2024 (12%) and the increase in the average salary over the last three years (11%). Since prices increased by 12% in 2024, and pensions will be indexed by 11.5%, this means that the increase in pensions is almost keeping pace and only slightly lags behind actual inflation," explained Oleksandra Myronenko.

Thanks to the indexing, 10 million pensioners will expect an increase in their payments.

For comparison, in 2024, pensions were indexed by 7.9%, while inflation at the end of 2023 was 5.1%. This means that due to the salary component, the previous increase in pensions even exceeded the rate of price growth.

Who Will Receive Pension Increases Starting March 1, and Who Will Not

Pensions will be increased for 9.2 million Ukrainians whose pensions are assigned on general grounds. This also applies to 672,000 pensioners from law enforcement agencies.

In total, the indexing will be conducted for:

• for 98,000 individuals receiving a disability pension and in case of loss of a breadwinner due to the Chernobyl disaster;
• 79,600 pensioners with disabilities due to war and combat participants receiving minimum pension payments;
• 23,400 pensioners who are former employees of local government bodies and civil servants.

The increase will only affect the pension amount itself, excluding supplements.

It should be noted that the increase will only apply to the pension amount itself, without considering supplements. For instance, if the indexing is at a level of 10%, Ukrainians may see an addition ranging from the minimum 100–200 UAH (for those whose calculated pension is less than the minimum pension of 2,361 UAH) to a maximum of 1,000 UAH (for those whose calculated pension exceeds 10,000 UAH).

However, the new indexing will not apply to those who retired in the last three years — their payments are considered current. Nevertheless, a small supplement may be established for such pensioners, as was done in previous years.

Indexing will also not be applied to payments for pensioners whose pensions exceed 10 living wages, which amounts to 23,610 UAH. If a person's pension approaches or exceeds this amount, they should not expect an increase in payments.

Working pensioners will wait for their recalculation in April. A different mechanism for increasing payments is planned for them.

What Will the Average Pension Be Now, and Who Else Will Receive Payments from the State

It's important to know that there are temporary limits on the maximum amount of pension indexing in Ukraine. The increase resulting from indexing will be capped at 1,500 UAH for all pension and insurance payment recipients, regardless of category. The minimum increase in pensions will be at least 100 UAH.

The average projected increase in pensions after indexing will be 556 UAH, with the average pension in Ukraine rising from 5,789 UAH to 6,345 UAH. By the way, in 2024, the average pension after indexing increased by 358 UAH or 6.7% — to 5,743 UAH.

The average projected increase in pensions after indexing will be 556 UAH, with the average pension in Ukraine rising from 5,789 UAH to 6,345 UAH.

Additionally, starting March 1, monthly insurance payments for 158,000 individuals affected by workplace accidents and occupational diseases resulting in loss of capacity to work, as well as those entitled to insurance payments in the event of the victim's death, will also be indexed.

On April 1, there will be an automatic recalculation of pensions for 629,000 working pensioners (considering their updated insurance records).

"The rising costs of all consumer goods place a significant burden on people with low incomes. It is evident that almost all pensioners in Ukraine fall into the category of low-income individuals. It is reassuring that the state continues to care for the most vulnerable segments of the population during such a difficult wartime. However, we must all understand that due to enormous defense expenditures, there is a lack of funds for social payments in Ukraine, and these payments have been financed solely through international assistance since 2022," explained the expert.

According to the Pension Fund, as of October 2024, there were more than 10 million pensioners in Ukraine. The average pension amount was 5,852 UAH per month. Among them, nearly three million pensioners continue to work. They receive an average of 6,258 UAH. The largest proportion of Ukrainian pensioners, over a quarter (26%), receive up to 3,000 UAH per month. Another 17% receive up to 4,000 UAH. Up to 5,000 UAH per month — 19%. Pensions exceeding 10,000 UAH are received by 12.7% of Ukrainian pensioners.