Transition from one type of pension to another

There are situations when a pensioner is entitled to different types of pension. In this case, he can at his own discretion choose exactly the option that will impress him the most. This right is enshrined in Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory State Pension Insurance".

What is the legal order of the procedure?

Transfer from one type of pension to another is a change in the type of pension in accordance with the norms of current legislation. For example, it can be a transition from an old-age pension to a survivor's pension. When such a transfer takes place, the Pension Fund authorities only carry out "pension recalculation", but at the same time they do not apply the average salary (income) for the three calendar years preceding the year of application. If you look at it from the point of view of legal norms, such actions of PF officials are a direct violation of them.

Indeed, there are many situations when the law is on the side of the pensioner, and the PF is on the other side. The team of the Prikhodko&Partners law office is regularly contacted by clients with various requests in the field of pension law. What they have in common is the reluctance of the Pension Fund to respect the rights of pensioners when they want to defend themselves and achieve the proper financial support provided for by law. In the end, such stories in the vast majority of cases reach the court, because the PF does not want to respond to the legitimate demands of pensioners in any other way than through a court decision.

What the legislation and court practice say?

In the context of the issue we are considering, it is worth paying special attention to part 3 of Article 45 of Law No. 1058-IV. It provides that the defined part 2 of Art. 40 of this Law, the average salary (income) for pension assignment, i.e. for the 3 calendar years preceding the year of application, is applied only when a person switches from one type of pension to another for the first time.

In addition, it is worth paying attention to the decisions of the Supreme Court. In particular, it concerns cases № 348/2271/16-a, № 495/620/17, № 211/1898/17, № 504/503/17, № 528/196/17 and № 336/7438/16-a . To put it briefly, the plaintiffs were people who were awarded a pension under such regulatory and legal acts as:

• Law "On pension provision";
• Law "On pension provision of persons released from military service and certain other persons".

In the future, the plaintiffs sought to receive an old-age pension, referring to the Law "On Mandatory State Pension Insurance". These demands were recognized as well-founded, so the Supreme Court of Ukraine sided with the plaintiffs in all cases.

How does the legal support of such cases take place?

When our team supports a case where the client's request is related to the transition from one pension to another, we work in the following sequence:

• first we will find out all the important circumstances that will further work in favor of the plaintiff;
• then we start preparing to qualitatively represent the plaintiff's interests in court;
• we perform a representative function during the court session.

The mentioned legislative norms and the practice of the Supreme Court are a direct confirmation that such cases are winnable. So do not delay and do not lose the opportunity to improve the conditions of your pension, because this is directly provided for by the current norms of Ukrainian legislation.