PREFERRED YEARS OF SERVICE OF MILITARY SERVANTS AND THE RIGHT TO A PENSION

The issue of assigning pensions to military personnel has always been relevant, and even more so in the conditions of martial law. If you are interested in the assistance of a military lawyer, there are such specialists in the team of the Prikhodko&Partners law office. We provide comprehensive assistance, from consulting to legal support and representation in court. So, let’s consider the issues of preferential length of service in more detail.

What legal acts govern this topic?

The key to regulating this issue is the Law of Ukraine № 2262. In particular, it contains the concept of calendar length of service, under which the legislator means a certain number of calendar days within the relevant period. For example, a calendar year includes 365 calendar days, and a month – 30.

Article 17-1 of the mentioned law states that the procedure by which length of service is calculated and preferential conditions for the appointment of pensions are determined is established by the Cabinet of Ministers. This applies to all persons subject to the regulation.

It is also worth mentioning the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers № 393 of July 17, 1992. It states that tenure in some positions is counted according to special rules (for example, a year – for one and a half, a month – for two or three months). A current example is participation in hostilities when martial law is declared in the country. It is in this situation that a month is counted as three.

In this resolution, you can see the detailed regulation of the appointment of length of service for military personnel in different positions and at different periods of time.

When we talk about these topics with our clients, we acquaint them in detail with all the legal aspects that specifically affect their situation.

What is the procedure for assigning a pension on preferential terms?

The procedure for assigning pensions to military personnel is regulated by the Procedure for submitting and processing documents for assigning (recalculating) pensions in accordance with Law № 2262-XII, approved by Resolution of the Board of the Pension Fund of Ukraine dated January 30, 2017 № 3-1. We understand well that it is difficult for clients to deal with such a large number of legal norms in various acts of current legislation on their own. That is why we consult in as much detail as possible, answering those questions that are relevant for each specific case.

When a serviceman is discharged, the structure from which he retires draws up all the documents and sends the appropriate submission to the body authorized to grant a pension.

What problems arise during the appointment of a pension?

Despite the fact that the legislation regulates in detail the issues related to the appointment of pensions, in practice in most cases there are a number of problems and artificial complications. PFCs and authorized structural divisions for the most part refuse to process documents for the further assignment of a pension. They refer to the fact that supposedly there is no required calendar length of service, because they do not want to take it into account according to the principle indicated in the above-mentioned resolution.

Therefore, people have to defend their legal rights and interests in court. This is where our services will come in handy, since the client needs to tune in to two courts – with the authorized body and the Pension Fund. Despite this, this category of cases is advantageous. This is evidenced by the numerous practice of the Supreme Court. She unequivocally asserts that such actions on the part of state authorities are unlawful.

Summing up…

So, indeed, in most cases, military personnel are not able to independently resolve the issue of a pension for preferential length of service. But the bureaucratic and human factors in the authorized bodies are not the reason for refusing to defend their rights.

Our experts have extensive experience in such cases, as clients regularly submit such requests. Therefore, we will help you to achieve fair court decisions. The right to a pension for preferential length of service is expressly provided for by the current legislation. Therefore, the legal norms in such cases are clearly on the side of our clients.