Man won a court case for pension recalculation but died before payment: can the widow receive the awarded funds

The Odessa Court of Appeal confirmed the right of the wife of the deceased military pensioner to receive UAH 229,872.45 of pension arrears, which were calculated for her husband in execution of a court decision on pension recalculation but were not paid during his lifetime. The court rejected the arguments of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Odessa region regarding the lack of budget financing and upheld the decision of the court of first instance to recover the funds in favor of the plaintiff.

The panel of judges emphasized that the non-fulfillment during the pensioner's lifetime of the court decision on pension recalculation and payment does not deprive family members and heirs of the right to receive the funds due to him.

Circumstances of the case

In June 2025, the wife of the deceased pensioner filed a lawsuit against the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Odessa region to recover UAH 229,872.45 of unpaid pension, the right to which she acquired after her husband's death.

As established by the courts, by the decision of the Odessa District Administrative Court dated May 30, 2022, the Pension Fund was obliged to recalculate the plaintiff's husband's pension from April 1, 2019, based on an updated certificate of monetary provision. This decision became legally binding, and the fund made the corresponding accruals. According to the calculation, the amount of arrears for the period from April 2019 to October 2022 amounted to UAH 229,872.45.

However, the pensioner did not receive these funds during his lifetime. After his death, the wife accepted the inheritance and applied to the Pension Fund for payment of the accrued amount. In response, the Pension Fund informed her of the absence of grounds for payment, stating that the applicant is not a claimant in the pension recalculation case.

Decision of the court of first instance

The Primorsky District Court of Odessa satisfied the claim and recovered UAH 229,872.45 from the Main Department of the Pension Fund in the Odessa region in favor of the plaintiff.

The court reasoned that the dispute concerns the right of a person to receive the pension amount that belonged to the deceased husband, was accrued in execution of a court decision, but remained unpaid during his lifetime. Therefore, the plaintiff has the right to demand its payment.

What the Pension Fund argued

Appealing the decision, the Main Department of the Pension Fund in the Odessa region insisted that pension payments are made exclusively from the Pension Fund's funds and other sources defined by law.

The defendant also stated that the actual non-payment of the accrued amounts was due to the lack of necessary funding, and budget allocations for the execution of court decisions are directed in order of priority. According to the appellant, under such circumstances, the absence of payment cannot be considered an unjustified non-fulfillment of the court decision.

Conclusions of the appellate court

The Odessa Court of Appeal dismissed these arguments and agreed with the conclusions of the court of first instance.

The panel of judges analyzed the provisions of Article 1227 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, Article 52 of the Law "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance," and Article 61 of the Law "On Pension Provision for Persons Released from Military Service and Some Other Persons."

The court noted that these norms do not deprive family members and heirs of the right to receive pension amounts that belonged to the deceased pensioner and were not received by him during his lifetime. The law only defines the procedure and conditions for exercising such a right.

The appellate instance drew attention to the legal position of the Supreme Court, according to which the right to receive accrued but unpaid social payments arises for family members directly on the basis of the law. At the same time, the reasons why such funds were not paid during the person's lifetime have no legal significance.

The court separately emphasized that the non-fulfillment during the pensioner's lifetime of the court decision on recalculation and payment of the pension does not deprive his heirs of the possibility to receive the corresponding funds. Under Article 1227 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, such amounts are considered as belonging to the decedent for payment.

What the court decided

The appellate court concluded that the plaintiff has the right to receive UAH 229,872.45 of pension arrears accrued to her husband in execution of the court decision but unpaid during his lifetime.

The court also rejected the Pension Fund's reference to the absence of budget appropriations, emphasizing that such circumstances do not remove the obligation to make payments due to the person according to the court decision and legal requirements.

As a result, the appellate complaint of the Main Department of the Pension Fund in the Odessa region was dismissed, and the decision of the Primorsky District Court of Odessa remained unchanged. The ruling in case 522/14629/25-E became legally binding from the day of its adoption and may be appealed in cassation procedure.

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