Minimum living wage to be reviewed in Ukraine: what it affects

In 2025, the minimum living wage in Ukraine will remain at the level of 2920 UAH, but starting from 2026, it will be raised to 3209 UAH and significantly reviewed, disconnecting it from unnecessary payments. This was reported by the website UNN.

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Serhiy Marchenko, promises to make this indicator a real measure of the standard of living, which will affect social payments, taxes, and benefits. For Ukrainians, this means potential growth in minimum wages, pensions, and subsidies, but also possible increases in administrative payments. 

What the minimum living wage affects in Ukraine

Currently, the review of the minimum living wage serves as a basis for calculating numerous payments and fees. Here are the main areas of influence:

• Social assistance: minimum wage, pensions, unemployment benefits, housing subsidies — all are tied to this sum.

• Taxes and penalties: administrative payments, fines for violations, alimonies are calculated based on the minimum living wage.

• Family payments: assistance for children, care for the disabled — will increase proportionally to the review.

• Medical and educational benefits: free medical care or education for the underprivileged are based on this indicator.

"The minimum living wage will be reviewed and disconnected from other inappropriate payments and benefits, in order to modernize it, making it a sufficiently clear measure that will determine the standard of living," — Marchenko stated during the hour of questions to the government. 

In 2025, according to the budget project, the indicator did not change — 2920 UAH per month, as in 2024. This means stability for recipients of payments, but also stagnation in the conditions of inflation. From January 1, 2026, the increase to 3209 UAH is expected to be the first step towards reform. Experts expect that disconnecting from "inappropriate" payments will simplify the system.

Introduced in the 1990s the minimum living wage as a basic indicator of poverty, it has long been criticized for being detached from life: it is impossible to cover basic needs in megacities for 2920 UAH, where the basket costs twice as much. During the war, the indicator was frozen to save on defense, but the pressure of inflation and rising prices forces changes.