Childcare Assistance up to 1 Year: The Pension Fund of Ukraine Announced the Start Date of Payments, Application Deadlines, and List of Allowed Purchases
The Pension Fund of Ukraine reported that childcare assistance until the child reaches one year of age is assigned from the day following the expiration of the medical certificate or the completion of pregnancy and childbirth benefits.
Payments are made until the child reaches one year of age, provided the application was submitted no later than the last day of the sixth month after the child turned one year old.
At the same time, assistance is assigned inclusive of the month in which the child reaches one year of age.
Exception for Legal Representatives
The Pension Fund notes that in certain cases, assistance may be assigned to another legal representative of the child, excluding foster parents, guardians, and representatives of institutions performing guardianship or custodial functions.
In such cases, payments are assigned from the day the legal representative acquires the right to represent the child’s interests according to the law, which must be documented.
At the same time, in all cases, assistance is assigned no earlier than January 1, 2026.
How Assistance is Paid in Case of Late Application
If a person applies for assistance after the right to it arises, the payment is made in a lump sum.
The recipient will be paid for each month starting from the month the right to assistance arose until the month the child reaches one year of age inclusive.
What the Funds Can Be Spent On
The Pension Fund emphasized that the received funds can only be used in cashless form to purchase goods and services from legal entities and individual entrepreneurs registered according to the law, with the acquiring bank setting specific Merchant Category Codes.
Specifically, the assistance can be used to pay for goods and services in the following categories:
- children’s clothing;
- family clothing;
- grocery stores and supermarkets;
- retail sale of dairy products;
- pharmacies;
- sports goods stores;
- bookstores;
- toy stores;
- museums and exhibitions;
- general practitioner services;
- hospitals;
- childcare services.
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