Chernobyl pension supplement

Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine «On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chornobyl Disaster» (Law № 796-XII) provides for categories of citizens working in areas of radioactive contamination. The current version of the law is dated January 1, 2015. Let's take a closer look at what it says.

What is the amount of the Chornobyl pension supplement?

Thus, those who work in the above-mentioned territories are entitled to an additional payment in the following amounts:

• in the unconditional resettlement zone - 3 minimum wages;
• in the area of guaranteed voluntary resettlement - 2 minimum wages;
• n the area of enhanced radioecological control - 1 minimum wage.

In the current version of the law (as discussed above, dated January 1, 2015), subparagraph 7 of paragraph 4 of Section I amended Articles 31, 37, 39 and 45. However, the CCU's decision № 6-r/2018 of July 17, 2018, recognized these amendments as inconsistent with the Constitution of Ukraine. Therefore, they became invalid from the moment the decision was made. This means that as of July 17, 2018, the wording of Article 39 of this law came back into force. It was in force until January 1, 2015. Also in favor of pensioners is the fact that the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court considered an exemplary case on March 18, 2020, and issued Decision № 240/4937/18. It determined the conditions for pension supplementation. So, they are as follows:

• the pensioner lives in one of the radioactive contamination zones (there is a list of settlements that belong to such areas);
• they are not officially employed and have a certificate of a person affected by the Chornobyl accident.

Thus, it is possible to receive a pension supplement due to residence in the respective territories. However, there are certain aspects of the amount of the supplement that are not fully regulated. It is worth considering them in more detail, focusing on the practice of administrative proceedings.

How is the amount of the Chernobyl pension supplement calculated?

The court practice is not unambiguous. Therefore, each judge has his or her own position on this issue. One of two indicators can be taken as the key calculation value of the surcharge:

• the minimum wage as specified in Law № 796;
• the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons, which is applied on the basis of the current Law № 1774.

Depending on the region, most courts make decisions where the second option, namely the subsistence minimum, is used as the base value for calculating the surcharge in the resolution part.

How can we help?

The team of Prikhodko & Partners Law Firm regularly deals with inquiries related to pension law. So if you need quality legal assistance, we are ready to offer it in two formats:

• consulting;
• legal support.

As for the consultation, we answer your questions during this interaction. It can be either in person at our office or online. As for legal support, we mean representation of client interests in court.

We know well how to build a strategy in this area in order to achieve a predictable positive result. Therefore, please contact us - our team of lawyers has specialists who have sufficient experience to help you effectively.