A man refuses to return an overpayment of 11,198 hryvnias from the Pension Fund. Here’s the court's ruling on the matter.

A man received a pension totaling 11,198 hryvnias between November 28, 2023, and April 30, 2024. Subsequently, he received a claim from the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) regarding the return of these funds, citing that the right to receive a pension was absent according to the preliminary documents provided, in accordance with Article 32 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory State Pension Insurance." This was stated in the decision of the Irpin City Court of Kyiv Oblast, published on February 13, 2025.

On February 22, 2024, the man submitted an application for disability pension, attaching the required documentation. By a decision dated February 29, 2024, he was granted a pension starting from November 28, 2023. The payment was made by transferring the pension funds to his account at JSC "Oschadbank," with the payment date set for the 12th. Upon reviewing the application and the documents regarding his work experience again, on May 21, 2024, a denial of the pension was issued in accordance with Article 32 of the Law due to the absence of pension entitlement. The citizen's insurance record totals 6 years, 5 months, and 27 days, including 2 years of work under harmful and hazardous conditions as per list No. 1.

"Article 32 of the Law of Ukraine 'On Mandatory State Pension Insurance' provides that individuals with established disability have the right to a disability pension depending on the disability group and the presence of insurance experience at the time of disability occurrence or on the day of applying for the pension. Specifically, for individuals with III group disability from 36 years to 37 years inclusive – 7 years," - the case materials state.

On May 29, 2024, a letter was sent to JSC "Oschadbank" requesting the return of pension funds for the period from April 1, 2024, to April 30, 2024, totaling 11,210 hryvnias. On May 30, 2024, JSC "Oschadbank" returned the funds within the available balance of 11.98 hryvnias. A letter dated June 4, 2024, informed the man about the overpayment and suggested resolving the return of funds voluntarily. As of the date of the memorandum, the funds have not been returned.

What did the court decide?

The court denied the claim. The case materials did not prove that the payment of the pension to the man in the amount of 11,198 hryvnias was due to a calculation error, nor that he provided documents that did not meet legal requirements, or that he acted in bad faith when receiving the pension amount of 11,198 hryvnias.

"Thus, the case materials did not prove the fact of bad faith acquisition by the defendant of the received funds, which are pension payments, and there was no established calculation error; therefore, according to Article 1215 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, the specified amount is not subject to return," the court emphasized.