The Pension Fund demands the return of a survivor's pension amounting to 11,090 hryvnias – the court's ruling on the matter.

A woman is receiving a pension due to the loss of her breadwinner from her deceased husband. However, the Pension Fund points out an error in calculating the average monthly salary coefficient, leading to a demand for her to return the overpayment of 11,090 hryvnias. This was stated in the decision of the Desnyansky District Court of Chernihiv, published on December 30, 2024.

The woman is registered with the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Chernihiv region and receives a pension for the loss of her breadwinner under the Law of Ukraine "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chernobyl Disaster" since February 16, 2022, for her deceased husband. According to the procedure for calculating pensions for individuals affected by the Chernobyl disaster, approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated November 23, 2011, No. 1210, individuals with disabilities among the participants in the elimination of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster have the right to calculate their pension based on the salary (income) determined from five times the minimum wage established by law as of January 1 of the corresponding year. In particular, the average monthly salary coefficient used for pension assignment in 2023 was 2.50124, calculated as follows: 6,500 UAH (minimum wage as of January 1, 2022) x 5/12 993.56 UAH (average salary for 2021). However, due to a programming error, the average monthly salary coefficient of 2.90126 was incorrectly applied instead of the correct 2.50124. Thus, an overpayment of the pension occurred from February 28, 2023, to November 30, 2023, totaling 11,090 hryvnias, which must be reimbursed by her.

What did the court decide?

The court rejected the claim. There is no evidence confirming circumstances of abuse or bad faith on the part of the woman.

"The Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Chernihiv region did not provide the court with any evidence to confirm the circumstances of abuse or bad faith on the part of the defendant. Furthermore, the court was not provided with the results of an internal investigation regarding the employees' error in calculating pension benefits or evidence of a software malfunction that led to technical errors and excessive payments. Under these circumstances, the court should deny the claims," the court emphasized.