Who will truly feel the pension indexation from March 1, and whose payments will not be increased
Kyiv • UNN
From March 1, Ukraine will see a 12.1% pension indexation, which will not affect all pensioners equally. Some will receive a significant increase, while others will see minimal changes or no indexation at all due to restrictions.
Due to allowances, "top-ups" for length of service, and legislative restrictions, some pensioners will receive a significant increase, some will barely notice changes, and the smallest and largest payments may not be indexed at all.
Starting March 1, Ukraine traditionally begins pension indexation by 12.1%. But behind this figure lies not a universal increase for everyone, but a recalculation of basic indicators in the formula, which yields very different results depending on the type of pension, length of service, previous salary, and the presence of allowances. Some pensioners will feel an increase in their wallets, others will see only minimal changes, and certain categories may not receive indexation at all due to established restrictions.
In this material, together with pension expert Serhiy Korobkin, we analyze who will be affected by the indexation, why 12% does not equal "+12% to the payment," how "top-ups" for length of service work, and why the discussion about the fairness of increases always comes down to the old problem: official indices and the real cost of living for pensioners often do not coincide.
Pension indexation from March 1: what the authorities say about it
Minister of Social Policy Denys Uliutin, in an interview for RBC-Ukraine, confirmed: pensions for Ukrainians will increase by an average of 12%, and allowances will range from 100 to 2595 hryvnias, respectively.
Legislation provides a clear formula for recalculating payments. It takes into account two key macroeconomic indicators: half of the coefficient depends on inflation for the past year (which was 8% in 2025), and the other half — on the growth rate of the average salary in Ukraine over the last three years (16.1%). The combination of these data allowed the government to reach the figure of 12.1%
Uliutin added that this year, for the first time in a long period, the Pension Fund of Ukraine entered the new year with an approved deficit-free budget. Therefore, all citizens who are entitled to a pension should receive their funds in full and without delays.
The increase in payments will also affect the families of fallen and missing persons. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko noted that the minimum pension payment for each disabled family member, including parents, wives, husbands for one child of fallen defenders, and a child of a fallen defender who receives state aid instead of a pension, will be no less than 12,810 UAH per person.
The head of the Cabinet of Ministers clarified that currently, such a payment is 7,800 UAH.
"The minimum pension payment will increase for families where a pension or state social assistance is assigned to two or more family members of a fallen defender, excluding disabled parents, wife, or husband. In such cases, the payment must be no less than 10,020 UAH for each family member, instead of the current 6,100 UAH," Svyrydenko informed.
She added that these amounts will be reviewed annually starting from March 1, 2027.
By what principle officials recalculated pensions for Ukrainians
Serhiy Korobkin, an expert in pension legislation, explains in an exclusive comment to UNN: when the authorities talk about pension indexation by 12.1%, it is rather about a technical recalculation of the formula, which will be noticeable for some, and almost imperceptible for others.
The problem is that this does not automatically mean (an increase, — ed.) of 12% to the payment in the statement. Not the entire pension increases: the salary used in the calculation formula increases. Therefore, expectations of "it was 5000, it will be 5600" are often shattered by the mathematics of allowances, surcharges, and limitations.
The nuance is that two parameters are substituted into the calculation formula: salary growth over the previous three years and the inflation index.
Then they are summed and divided in half. In our case, this looks like a 16% increase in average salary and 8% current inflation. As a result, we get 12% indexation.
The specialist adds that expert circles are already discussing how close the inflation coefficient announced by officials is to real indicators and whether the pension increase will "cover" the decrease in the population's purchasing power due to its growth. Currently, there are no clear answers to these questions.
Economists believe that (the declared level of depreciation of purchasing power, — ed.) does not correspond to reality, because inflation is much higher, and the growth of these pensions does not cover the real needs of pensioners.
Pensions in Ukraine in March 2026: how much Ukrainians will receive
Starting from March 1, 2026, Ukrainians will receive the following payments:
- non-working pensioners — 3,406 UAH (previously — 3,038 UAH);
- Ukrainians aged 70 to 80 — 4,050 UAH (previously — 3,613 UAH);
- people over 80 — 4,213 UAH (previously — 3,758 UAH);
- parents and spouses of fallen military personnel — 12,810 UAH (previously — 7,800 UAH);
- other family members who were dependents of fallen military personnel — 10,020 UAH (previously — 6,100 UAH).
The maximum pension remains unchanged at 25,950 UAH. However, this does not apply to defenders of Ukraine.
The expert in pension law states directly: the most controversial area is minimal social payments tied to the subsistence minimum. This refers to people who lack sufficient length of service, as well as some recipients of social assistance, including disabled people from childhood, who physically cannot acquire length of service. For them, the payment equals the subsistence minimum.
Accordingly, from March, most likely, no one in these categories will feel an increase.
At the same time, there is also an upper "ceiling".
The maximum pension today is 10 minimums. That's 25,950 hryvnias." Such payments fall under restrictions and will not be indexed.
In hryvnia terms, indexation is naturally more noticeable for those with a higher monetary base.
On the one hand, large pensions increase significantly. If, say, it's 15 thousand, it will be noticeable. If these are small pensions, 3 thousand or even less, then the percentage is not as noticeable.
And adds:
"Currently, our average pension is about 6.5 thousand hryvnias. If we roughly apply the stated percentage to the base, it's an increase that looks decent on paper, but in a pensioner's consumer basket, it can be 'eaten up' faster than it manages to reflect on the standard of living."
In addition, there is another important nuance. In previous years, the government applied so-called safeguards in absolute amounts. This involved a minimum increase of 100 hryvnias. And last year's range, according to UNN's interlocutor, varied from 100 hryvnias to 2.5 thousand.
Such "thresholds" always make indexation less pure and more like manual adjustment, which amplifies the difference between expectations and the actual increase in a specific person's pension.
How length of service affects pension indexation in 2026
The logic of the pension formula is simple: length of service + salary + average salary across the country, says expert Serhiy Korobkin.
There is an individual's salary coefficient, there is the average salary across the country, and the amount of length of service. Simply put: if a person has 30 years of service, their pension will be 30 percent of their salary.
A separate mechanism is surcharges for those with long service but low salaries.
"For over 35 years, the state makes 'top-ups' for such people," explains the expert and gives a telling example from last year, "The smallest pension, 3,323 hryvnias... this was topped up for those who have length of service."
According to him, these amounts will also increase by 12% this year.
What needs to be done for pension recalculation
The recalculation will be carried out automatically — there is no need to additionally contact the Pension Fund authorities.
Thus, several important facts should be remembered about the March 2026 indexation.
Firstly, 12.1% is not a universal increase in payment, but a change in the calculation base, so the actual "plus" to payments in hryvnia equivalent varies.
Secondly, currently, the lowest social payments and maximum pensions have limitations.
Thirdly, length of service and "top-ups" for it remain key to minimal guarantees, but do not save from a decrease in real purchasing power if official indices diverge from real prices.
Recall
In Ukraine, the procedure for physical identification of pensioners has been resumed, which caused discussions due to the suspension of payments to hundreds of thousands of people. This procedure, which was in effect before the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to prevent fraud and double payments, especially for those in occupied territories or abroad.