Will there be a pension increase for Chernobyl victims?

The issue of increasing the pension of Chernobyl victims arises quite often, so our clients come to us with it. The lawyers of Prikhodko & Partners Law Firm know how to help in the context of consulting and legal support in such cases. But first, it is worth touching on this topic in more detail, recalling the legal acts that regulate it.

What legislation regulates the issue of pensions for Chornobyl victims?

So, the legal acts that regulate this issue are:

• The Law of Ukraine "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chornobyl Disaster";
• The Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chornobyl Disaster".

It is worth mentioning that Article 14 of this legal act contains information about 4 categories of Chernobyl victims. This article is quite detailed, so let's touch upon some of its provisions. For example, liquidators of the Chornobyl accident who have radiation sickness and its connection with the liquidation of these consequences has been proven belong to the 1st category.

As for Category 2, it includes a wider list of people. For example, it refers to those who worked in the exclusion zone within the timeframe provided for in this article. It also refers to those evacuated from the exclusion zone in 1986 and those who lived there before the resolution on resettlement was adopted.

As for category 3, it also includes a fairly wide list of people - from liquidators who worked during the period defined by law to victims not included in category 2.

As for Category 4, it includes persons who permanently reside, study or work in the territory under enhanced radioecological control. However, this circumstance is taken into account only if they lived in this territory for at least 4 years before January 1, 1993.

What does the court practice show?

The legislator is increasingly limiting the pension benefits of Chornobyl victims, but the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine shows that this body of constitutional jurisdiction takes their side. In particular, it is worth paying attention to the CCU Decision of September 13, 2023, which states that the provisions of the Final and Transitional Provisions of the Budget Code contradict the Constitution. Thus, the CCU emphasized that budget legislation should not contradict the Basic Law of the state.

Another illustrative decision of the CCU of March 20, 2024, confirms the thesis that the limitation of the maximum pension for Chornobyl victims is not constitutional, as it contradicts the very essence and principles of social security from the state.

And if you want to learn more about the issues of social protection guarantees and compensation for damage to persons affected by the Chornobyl accident, you should pay attention to the relevant CCU Decision of April 3, 2024.

How can we be of service to you?

The team of the Prikhodko & Partners Law Firm can send a request to the Pension Fund regarding pension benefits and request pension calculations. We are also ready to carry out a legal analysis of whether it is possible and appropriate to recalculate the pension in court in your case. If this is the case, we will first use the method of pre-trial settlement with the Pension Fund of Ukraine. As practice shows, this stage is a mere formality, as representatives of the Pension Fund often refuse to do so. But it is the official refusal that is the document that can be used to go to court. We will help you there by representing your interests.

Thus, a number of decisions of the CCU indicate that in many cases it is indeed advisable to demand a pension recalculation. Our experts will help you better understand this issue.