A woman is demanding 458,108 hryvnias in pension payments from the Pension Fund for her deceased father - what was the court's decision?

Following her father's death, the woman gained the right to receive the accrued but unpaid pension amounting to 458,108 hryvnias. Therefore, she is demanding the Pension Fund to pay this amount. This is stated in the decision of the Bohun District Court of Zhytomyr, published on January 21, 2025.

According to the decision of the Zhytomyr District Administrative Court dated May 11, 2021, in case No. 240/14072/20, her father's lawsuit against the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Zhytomyr region was upheld, recognizing the inaction as illegal and obligating the fund to calculate and pay her father a pension supplement defined in Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chernobyl Catastrophe," amounting to two minimum wages monthly starting from July 17, 2018. She requested that the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Zhytomyr region pay her the pension payments that her deceased father did not receive during his lifetime, according to the recalculation based on the decision of the Zhytomyr District Administrative Court dated May 11, 2021, in case No. 240/14072/20, totaling 458,108 hryvnias.

What did the court decide?

The court granted the woman's claim. The Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Zhytomyr region will pay her the pension payments that her father, who has passed away, did not receive during his lifetime, amounting to 458,108 hryvnias.

"The case materials confirm that the plaintiff is indeed the daughter, and therefore, according to the provisions of Article 1261 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, belongs to the first line of heirs by law. Thus, the court believes that the plaintiff's right to receive the unpaid pension after the man's death has been violated by the defendant and is subject to judicial protection, as the plaintiff has no other means to defend her violated right. The court notes that the calculation of pensions is the exclusive competence of the defendant; therefore, the court cannot assume the powers of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Zhytomyr and interfere with its discretionary powers. Consequently, the amount of 458,108 hryvnias, which has been accrued by the defendant as the entity responsible for making pension payments as mandated by law, should be awarded in favor of the plaintiff. Thus, the claim is to be granted, and the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Zhytomyr is to pay the unpaid pension payments for the lifetime of the deceased father, totaling 458,108 hryvnias, the amount of which is confirmed by appropriate evidence," the court emphasized.