The Supreme Court recognized the reduction of the "Chernobyl" pension supplement due to the budget law as illegal

The Cassation Administrative Court of the Supreme Court concluded that the provisions of Article 45 of the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" cannot serve as a basis for reducing the amount of the pension supplement guaranteed by Article 39 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Status and Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Chernobyl Disaster." The Court emphasized that changes to the size of such social guarantees can only be made by amending the special law, not by the state budget law.

An unemployed pensioner from Zhytomyr region, who has the status of a victim of the Chernobyl disaster and lives in the zone of guaranteed voluntary resettlement, applied to the court after the Pension Fund began paying him a fixed pension supplement of UAH 2,361 from January 1, 2025, instead of the amount provided for by Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII. The plaintiff requested to oblige the Pension Fund to calculate and pay the supplement in the amount of two subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons established on January 1 of the respective calendar year, starting from July 18, 2025.

The courts of first and appellate instances denied the claim, reasoning that after the entry into force of Article 45 of the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025," the Pension Fund lawfully applied the fixed supplement amount of UAH 2,361 established by this provision.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed with this approach, overturned the decisions of the previous instances, and issued a new ruling satisfying the claim.

What the Supreme Court stated

The Cassation Administrative Court recalled that following the Constitutional Court of Ukraine’s decision dated July 17, 2018, No. 6-r/2018, the version of Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII that was in effect until January 1, 2015, was reinstated. This version of Article 39 provides the right of unemployed pensioners residing in radioactive contamination areas to receive a pension supplement.

The Supreme Court also drew attention to the issue of determining the calculation base used to compute this supplement.

The panel of judges noted that after the entry into force of Law No. 1774-VIII, the minimum wage is no longer used as the calculation base for determining other payments. Therefore, when determining the amount of the pension supplement under Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII, the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons established on January 1 of the respective calendar year should be applied, not the minimum wage. The Court emphasized that this is not a change in the content of the social guarantee but the application of a new calculation base defined by law.

At the same time, the Supreme Court found the conclusions of the lower courts regarding the application of Article 45 of the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" to be erroneous.

The Court noted that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized that the state cannot cancel or reduce legally established social guarantees by adopting the state budget law. If the legislator intends to change the amount of benefits or compensations, such changes must be made specifically to the special law regulating the relevant legal relations. Therefore, the Supreme Court concluded that the provisions of Article 45 of the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" cannot serve as a basis for reducing the pension supplement guaranteed by Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII.

The panel also noted that a similar legal conclusion regarding the relationship between Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII and Article 45 of the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" was previously stated by the Supreme Court in its ruling dated June 2, 2026, in case No. 460/377/25.

Court decision

The Supreme Court satisfied the cassation appeal, annulled the decision of the Zhytomyr District Administrative Court and the ruling of the Seventh Administrative Court of Appeal, and issued a new decision.

The Court recognized the actions of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Zhytomyr region regarding the non-accrual and non-payment of the pension supplement provided by Article 39 of Law No. 796-XII to the plaintiff as unlawful.

Also, the Supreme Court obliged the Pension Fund to calculate and pay the pension supplement to the plaintiff as an unemployed pensioner residing in the radioactive contamination area in the amount of two subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons established on January 1 of the respective calendar year, starting from July 18, 2025.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in case No. 240/22191/25 came into legal force on the day of its adoption, is final, and not subject to appeal.

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