What Happened: Resolution No. 821 Repealed, Replacement No. 1046 Adopted
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has abandoned the controversial Resolution No. 821, which had allowed the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) to pay court-ordered pension debts only when enough money happened to be available in the budget. But on August 19, 2023, the government issued a new resolution, No. 1046, that keeps the same proportional debt-payment approach. That decision has alarmed retirees, many of whom had already challenged the previous rules in court, won their cases, and yet received only a fraction of the amounts they were awarded.
Under Resolution No. 821, the Pension Fund was permitted to settle court judgments in installments, paying out small shares of the total debt depending on how much free cash the budget had at any given moment. The government scrapped that resolution before the Supreme Court could issue a final ruling on it. Now, Resolution No. 1046 requires the PFU to draw up a monthly list of all outstanding debts and split the available money proportionally among everyone owed. For example, if a pensioner is owed 100,000 hryvnias and the funding available equals 2% of the total debt, the payout would be only 2,000 hryvnias.
Impact of the New Rules on Pensioners
The new resolution divides debts into two categories: pensions that courts have ordered to be paid now, and older arrears from previous years. The minimum payment guaranteed under Resolution No. 1046 is set at the subsistence level for people who have lost the ability to work, which in 2023 stands at 2,595 hryvnias. However, that floor applies only in one specific situation: when a court has ordered the PFU to award a pension to someone who never received it before.
The Supreme Court has previously stated that a lack of budget funds cannot be used as an excuse for failing to comply with court decisions. Legal experts suggest that pensioners who do not receive their money should submit their court rulings to the State Executive Service for compulsory enforcement. On August 21, a draft law, No. 15539, was registered in the Verkhovna Rada that would ban the practice of distributing payments proportionally based on available funds.
In a video on her YouTube channel “On Pension,” journalist Iryna Poliakova described Resolution No. 1046 as “the same filling wrapped in new paper.” She noted that if the government has not put real money into the budget, there is nothing to share. “Proportional distribution turns into dividing zero,” Poliakova said.
In the end, the new resolution leaves serious open questions about how pensioners awaiting court-ordered payments will actually get the support they are owed. When rulings are not fully enforced and funding remains uncertain, retirees face real financial hardship. The response of the Verkhovna Rada, and whether the new draft law is adopted, could play a decisive role in shaping what happens next and whether people can still hope for fair pension payments.
As the government implements these changes, it's essential for pensioners to understand the implications of the new payment structure. The recent shift in financing rules for court-ordered pensions could significantly affect how soon and how much individuals will receive. This adjustment highlights the ongoing challenges faced by retirees in securing their rightful benefits.