Pensions for Ukrainians who remain in the temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions and have not withdrawn them for more than a year will continue to be held in accounts at the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU). This was reported by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine on May 20.
This is reported by Finway
“Due to the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, which has lasted for over 10 years, some Ukrainian pensioners live in territories not controlled by the state. These pensioners continue to receive their pensions provided they undergo physical (including video) identification at the Pension Fund. At the same time, the Pension Fund of Ukraine has long been unable (for one year to sometimes 5–7 years) to contact some pensioners. These individuals have also not accessed the funds from their pension cards for an extended period (at least a year). As a result, their pension funds are accumulating in ‘Oschadbank’, which is supposed to disburse these pensions,” the ministry’s statement reads.
As of October 1, 2023, over 10 billion hryvnias have been accumulated in ‘Oschadbank’.
“To make the pension system more financially stable, the law ‘On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025’ established a new rule: funds that were set aside for the payment of such pensions will now be stored not in ‘Oschadbank’, but directly in the Pension Fund of Ukraine,” the ministry informs.
To implement this provision, the government has prepared a draft of special rules that clearly define how these funds will transition from ‘Oschadbank’ to the PFU. The money will await its owners or their heirs until individuals come forward to claim it.