Case: We have resumed pension payments to a client who is abroad

Client: a pensioner who is abroad.

The essence of the case (problem): the Pension Fund of Ukraine stopped paying the pension due to the pensioner’s departure abroad.

Desired outcome: resumption of pension payments.

Responsible lawyer: Chmona Alena

A pensioner, who has been an internally displaced person from Donetsk since 2014, contacted the “Prikhodko & Partners” Law Firm. She was registered as an internally displaced person with the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Kyiv region and left the country in 2022.

After leaving abroad from 01.01.2024, pension payments were stopped.

The woman repeatedly attempted to resolve the issue herself via email and by contacting the Pension Fund, but received only perfunctory responses. The most Olga Anatoliivna could learn was that her pension had been terminated due to the cancellation of her IDP certificate.

During the consultation, our lawyer proposed two options for resolving the issue:

1. pre-trial – obtaining a certificate and re-applying for the resumption of pension payments;
2. judicial – filing a lawsuit against the unlawful termination of pension payments, since there is a corresponding list of grounds in the Law when the PFU may terminate payments (in the Client’s situation, the Pension Fund violated this article).

An agreement was concluded between “Prikhodko & Partners” Law Firm and pensioner Olga Anatoliivna on the provision of legal assistance for the legal support of a case aimed at resuming pension payments from January 1, 2024.

In order to ensure proper protection in court, documents were requested from the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

On November 20, 2024, the Donetsk District Administrative Court issued a decision on case № 200/6155/24, which:

• the actions of the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Kyiv region regarding the termination (suspension) of pension payments to the Client from January 1, 2024, were deemed unlawful;
• the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Kyiv region was ordered to resume pension payments to the Client from January 1, 2024.

The Pension Fund of Ukraine body did not agree with the decision of the court of first instance and filed an appeal, but by the decision of the First Administrative Court of Appeal dated May 26, 2025, the appeal of the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Donetsk region against the decision of the Donetsk District Administrative Court dated November 20, 2024 in case No. 200/6155/24 was dismissed.

After the court decision entered into force, our pension law lawyer Alena Oleksandrivna sent a lawyer’s request regarding the execution of the court decision by the PFU body.

In response to the lawyer’s request, the Pension Fund of Ukraine provided a letter regarding the execution of the court decision, from which it is clear that the Client’s pension payment has been resumed as of 01.01.2024.

The pension amount from 01.01.2024 until payment was UAH 12,526.97, from 01.03.2024 – UAH 13,584.41, from 01.03.2025 – UAH 15,084.41. Funds, according to the court decision for the period from 01.01.2024 to 30.06.2025, were accrued in the amount of UAH 248,404.50, taken into account and will be paid under the terms of a separate Procedure.

To summarize, we were able to renew her pension payments from the date they were terminated, along with the amount of the outstanding balance. Furthermore, the resolution of this issue did not require our client’s personal presence in Ukraine. This means that even while outside the country, it is possible to resolve and exercise your pension rights if you act correctly and legally.

If you have been denied a pension by the Pension Fund or need assistance with your pension application, submit a request on our website, and our pension lawyer will contact you for an initial consultation and to discuss the details of your case.