A statement of claim challenging the actions of the Pension Fund

The Pension Fund of Ukraine is a state body that, according to logic, should take care of the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian pensioners as much as possible. However, in practice, we often have a completely different situation, given the huge number of lawsuits in court, with the help of which pensioners try to challenge the illegal actions or inaction of PF officials. Let's dwell on what are the most common appeals of clients to lawyers and what the team of the Prikhodko&Partners law office can help with.

What is the role of the PF in the issue of pension provision of citizens?

The Pension Fund of Ukraine, as well as its structural subdivisions in the format of the Main Departments in the regions, are subjects of authority in their sphere. It is about legal relations that concern the appointment, payment and transfer of pensions. In each of these categories of cases, there are many disputes that are resolved in court. Part 2 of Art. 4 Administrative Judicial Code of Ukraine determines that such disputes belong to the jurisdiction of administrative courts.

Should I sue PFU?

Sometimes pensioners believe that suing the actions or inaction of the PFU will be a hopeless case. However, numerous examples from judicial practice show that this is not the case. The law and decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the vast majority of cases are precisely on the side of the pensioner. At the same time, in the case of legislative changes or certain conflicts of legal norms, PFU is often guided by exactly what is disadvantageous for a person. Therefore, it is quite natural for her to want to protect her legitimate interests. It can be difficult to do it yourself, so it makes sense to turn to specialists. Professionals who regularly work in the field of pension law and know effective ways to defend the rights of their clients will ensure a successful case. Such experts are in the team of our law office.

Disputes on "military" pensions

If we analyze the common appeals to us, then among them it is worth highlighting the situations when the PFU:

• refuses to transfer the serviceman's pension on the basis of updated certificates;
• refuses to do so in the proper percentage ratio;
• when recalculating the pension, limits its maximum amount in such a way that it contradicts the norms of the current legislation;
• refuses to return the additional payment of 2 thousand hryvnias to retired military personnel;
• refuses to assign a pension when it comes to preferential and calendar assignment.

These examples are not limited to situations where the PFU acts against the legitimate interests of a military pensioner. However, these are the most common reasons for going to court.

Disputes in the issues of "civilian" pensions

Pensions for civilians are also a large category of requests with which we are approached after unsuccessful interaction with the PFU. This usually happens when officials of the Pension Fund of Ukraine:

• refuse to assign a pension because they do not take into account seniority or have questions about entries in the work book;
• refuse to transfer a pensioner from an old-age pension to a civil servant's pension under the "old" Law;
• refuse to assign an additional payment based on the pensioner's residence in Zones 2 and 3 of the ChNPP;
• stop paying a pension if a person has gone abroad;
• prevent the transition from one type of pension to another or refuse to assign a pension on preferential terms according to List №1 and List № 2.

Court cases in all the listed categories are winning. The main thing is to turn to good lawyers who will competently draft a claim, help organize the evidence base to support the claim, and competently represent their client's interests in court. Our law firm has such experts.