The Supreme Court explained when the Pension Fund of Ukraine can cancel the indexation of a military pension

The right to social protection, enshrined in Article 46 of the Constitution of Ukraine, is the basis of relations between the state and the citizen. However, the realization of this right for military pensioners often turns into court proceedings. The main question in 2024–2026 became: are pension indexation and its recalculation due to the increase in the subsistence minimum compatible?

The Supreme Court ruling dated June 10, 2026, in case No. 300/6209/24 provides a clear answer to this question, based on the principles of inadmissibility of double social security and the priority of special norms.

The plaintiff, as a military pensioner, had been receiving a length-of-service pension since 2005 under Law No. 2262-XII. In December 2023, he won a court case No. 300/6613/23, in which the court obliged the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) to recalculate his pension based on an updated certificate from the State Emergency Service as of January 1, 2023. The decision was related to the increase in the subsistence minimum and the corresponding increase in official salaries.

In March 2024, the Pension Fund of Ukraine recalculated the pension, including indexations for 2022, 2023, and 2024. As a result, the payment amount increased to UAH 23,554.86.

However, already in June 2024, the PFU made a new recalculation, excluding from the pension provision the indexation for 2022 and 2023, carried out according to resolutions No. 118 and No. 168.

The Pension Fund explained this by stating that after the pension was increased due to the rise in the pensioner's monetary allowance, the right to additional indexation for the respective periods was allegedly lost.

The courts of first and appellate instances sided with the pensioner and recognized the PFU's actions as unlawful.

In turn, the Pension Fund filed a cassation appeal, referring to the legal conclusions of the Supreme Court in the exemplary case No. 400/6254/24.

Motives of the Supreme Court and legal analysis

The Supreme Court approached the dispute resolution in a differentiated manner, separating the periods of 2022 and 2023.

Cancellation of indexation for 2023 (Resolution No. 168)

The Supreme Court applied the provisions of the third paragraph of point 2 of the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168. The norm stipulates that the pension increase coefficient is not applied if the pension has already been recalculated due to the increase in the monetary allowance of the respective categories of servicemen.

The court established that the plaintiff's pension was recalculated based on an updated certificate of monetary allowance as of 2023, issued due to the increase in the subsistence minimum.

According to the court, such recalculation itself is a mechanism to compensate for changes in socio-economic indicators. Therefore, additional application of indexation for 2023 would effectively lead to double increase of the same pension payment for the same period.

For these reasons, the Supreme Court agreed with the Pension Fund's position regarding the absence of the right to indexation for 2023.

Why the court upheld the indexation for 2022

At the same time, the Supreme Court reached the opposite conclusion regarding the indexation carried out according to the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 118 for 2022.

The court noted that in 2022 the plaintiff's pension was not recalculated due to the increase in the monetary allowance of servicemen. Therefore, the restriction provided by Resolution No. 168 did not apply for that period.

Moreover, the pension increase by a coefficient of 1.14, established from March 1, 2022, became an integral part of the pension payment. Resolution No. 118 explicitly provides for taking such an increase into account during further pension recalculations.

Therefore, the Supreme Court stated that further pension recalculation in 2023 on other grounds cannot be a basis for canceling or withdrawing the already accrued and lawfully paid indexation for 2022.

The court distinguished the indexation for 2022 and 2023, recognizing the legitimacy of maintaining it for 2022 and the illegitimacy of simultaneous application of indexation and recalculation due to the increase in monetary allowance for 2023.

If in 2022 the pension was not recalculated based on updated certificates of monetary allowance, the indexation established by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 118 remains part of the pension payment and must be considered during further recalculations.

If the pension was recalculated based on the certificate of monetary allowance as of 2023, the application of indexation according to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 168 is not carried out, since such recalculation already takes into account the increase in socio-economic indicators.

The decision confirms the need for an individual assessment of each pension recalculation case. The court effectively separated the legal consequences of indexation for 2022 and 2023 depending on whether the pension was recalculated due to changes in monetary allowance.

For military pensioners, this decision serves as a guideline when verifying the correctness of pension payments after recalculations, and for the Pension Fund authorities — regarding the limits of applying indexation and pension recalculation mechanisms.

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