A woman is required to repay an overpayment of 106,901 hryvnias in survivor's pension, as ruled by the court.

The woman is registered with the Military Personnel and Other Categories of Citizens Pension Fund Administration of Ukraine in Kyiv as a recipient of a survivor's pension. However, she has accrued an overpayment of pension benefits amounting to 106,901 hryvnias for the period from April 1, 2015, to November 30, 2020, which she is required to repay. This is stated in the decision of the Podil District Court of Kyiv, published on April 24, 2023.

The woman is registered with the Military Personnel and Other Categories of Citizens Pension Fund Administration of Ukraine in Kyiv as a recipient of a survivor's pension. On May 19, 2015, she submitted an application to the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) for the assignment of a survivor's pension for her deceased husband. Based on this application, a protocol from the PFU in Kyiv dated May 19, 2015, awarded her a survivor's pension in accordance with paragraph "b" of the Law, amounting to 30% of the soldier's salary. The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv annulled the PFU's decision from May 19, 2015, regarding pension case No. 2601028168, which assigned the citizen a pension of 30% of the soldier's salary due to the death of the breadwinner, ordered a recalculation of the pension starting from April 23, 2015, and mandated the payment of the underpaid pension amount. After aligning the pension case with the court's decision, she received a salary amounting to 70%, taking into account the recalculation. However, she also receives a survivor's pension for her deceased son at 70% of the deceased's salary, and therefore, according to the Law, she was not the only dependent entitled to a survivor's pension, and thus her pension should have been set at 45% of the deceased's salary. Consequently, she has an overpayment of pension benefits for the period from April 1, 2015, to November 30, 2020, totaling 106,901 hryvnias.

Case Review

The court established that the woman is registered with the Military Personnel and Other Categories of Citizens Pension Fund Administration of Ukraine in Kyiv as a recipient of a survivor's pension in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Dismissed from Military Service and Certain Other Persons." Specifically, the case materials confirm that on May 19, 2015, she applied to the PFU in Kyiv for the assignment of a survivor's pension for the deceased man.

Based on this application, the PFU in Kyiv, through a protocol decision dated May 19, 2015, awarded her a survivor's pension in accordance with paragraph "b" of the Law, amounting to 30% of the soldier's salary, taking into account any increases or allowances. The total pension amount for pension case No. 2601028168 was set at 3,020 hryvnias monthly from May 19, 2015, to April 30, 2023, which is also confirmed by the pension recalculation from August 1, 2015. Disagreeing with the PFU's decision, she appealed to the PFU with a letter requesting an adjustment of her survivor's pension to 70% of the soldier's salary instead of 30%.

In a response dated August 14, 2015, the PFU in Kyiv informed her in writing that a pension of 70% of the soldier's salary in cases of death related to military service duties is not provided for by Article 36 of Law No. 2262-XII. The pension amount as of August 1, 2015, is 3,020 hryvnias, which consists of:

• 1,942 hryvnias – the pension amount assigned in accordance with Article 36 of Law No. 2262-XII, which constitutes 30% of the deceased breadwinner's salary;
• 237 hryvnias – pension increase as a family member of a deceased (dead) war veteran amounting to 25% of the minimum subsistence for persons who have lost their ability to work in accordance with Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection" dated October 22, 1993, No. 3551-XII;
• 161 hryvnias - additional payment to the increase for a family member of a deceased (dead) war veteran amounting to 17% of the minimum subsistence for persons who have lost their ability to work according to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Increasing the Level of Social Protection of the Population" dated April 23, 2012, No. 327;
• 679 hryvnias - pension increase in accordance with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Increasing the Amount of Pensions Assigned in Accordance with the Law of Ukraine 'On Pension Provision for Persons Dismissed from Military Service and Certain Other Persons'" dated April 23, 2012, No. 355.

"The court takes into account that the plaintiff, in violation of the requirements of Articles 12, 13, and 81 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine, did not provide the court with any proper, admissible, and credible evidence to confirm that the defendant acted in bad faith when approached on May 19, 2015, with a request for the assignment/recalculation of the survivor's pension, or that she committed any abuses aimed at unlawfully obtaining the pension," the case materials state.

What Did the Court Decide?

The court denied the PFU's claim. The woman's actions were not proven to be in bad faith.

"The plaintiff's side did not provide evidence confirming bad faith behavior on the part of the defendant; the court concludes that the claims of the Main Administration of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kyiv are unfounded and baseless, and therefore are not subject to satisfaction," the court emphasized.