The Supreme Court recognized the unlawful application of reducing coefficients to military pensions

The Supreme Court formed a legal conclusion regarding the application in 2026 of reducing coefficients to the pensions of persons discharged from military service. The panel of judges of the Cassation Administrative Court concluded that Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026" and the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated December 30, 2025, No. 1778 introduced additional legal regulation in the field of pension provision, which is already regulated by a special law. Under such circumstances, the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Discharged from Military Service and Some Other Persons" shall apply.

The Supreme Court emphasized that the conditions and norms of pension provision for persons discharged from military service can be changed exclusively by amending the special law or the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance." Therefore, the actions of the Pension Fund body regarding the application of reducing coefficients to the plaintiff’s pension were recognized as unlawful.

Case circumstances

The plaintiff is registered with the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Cherkasy region and receives a pension in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Discharged from Military Service and Some Other Persons."

After recalculating the pension from January 1, 2026, its total amount was determined to be 28,000 UAH. At the same time, the Pension Fund applied reducing coefficients to the part of the pension exceeding ten subsistence minimums for persons who lost their ability to work, as provided by Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026" and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1778. As a result, the actual pension amount payable was 25,990.74 UAH.

The pensioner appealed to the Pension Fund demanding payment of the pension without applying reducing coefficients but received a refusal. The Pension Fund referred to Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026" and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1778, after which the pensioner challenged these actions in court.

What the courts decided

The Cherkasy District Administrative Court, whose conclusions were agreed upon by the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, partially satisfied the claim.

The courts recognized the actions of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Cherkasy region regarding limiting pension payments by applying reducing coefficients established by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1778 as unlawful and obliged to recalculate and pay the pension from January 1, 2026, without applying these coefficients and without limiting the maximum amount, taking into account the amounts already paid.

Disagreeing with these decisions, the Pension Fund filed a cassation appeal.

Position of the Supreme Court

The Cassation Administrative Court dismissed the cassation appeal.

The Supreme Court noted that the special Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Discharged from Military Service and Some Other Persons" directly provides that changes in the conditions and norms of pension provision for this category of persons are allowed exclusively by amending this law or the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance."

The court drew attention to the fact that Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026" provided for the payment of military pensions exceeding ten subsistence minimums with the application of reducing coefficients to the excess amount, and the Cabinet of Ministers by Resolution No. 1778 determined the sizes of such coefficients and the procedure for their application. At the same time, these provisions effectively established another, additional legal regulation of relations in the field of pension provision for persons discharged from military service, which is inconsistent with the special law.

The panel of judges emphasized that amendments to the special Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Discharged from Military Service and Some Other Persons" regarding limiting the size of pensions or applying reducing coefficients were not made. Therefore, the change of legal regulation in this area could only occur by amending this law itself, not through the State Budget law or a subordinate normative act.

The Supreme Court also referred to the established practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, according to which the law on the State Budget cannot change or narrow rights, guarantees, and social payments established by other laws, nor establish different legal regulation in a field already regulated by a special law. The Constitution of Ukraine does not grant the State Budget law higher legal force compared to other laws.

Separately, the Supreme Court drew attention to the principle lex specialis derogat generali. The court noted that in case of conflict between a general and a special law, the norms of the special law apply. Furthermore, according to part three of Article 7 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, courts should not apply normative legal acts if they conclude their inconsistency with the Constitution or laws of Ukraine, even if such acts formally remain in force.

Legal conclusion of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court formed a legal conclusion regarding the application of Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1778.

The panel of judges noted that the application during the calculation or recalculation of pensions of citizens among persons who served in the military and other persons entitled to a pension under the Law of Ukraine "On Pension Provision for Persons Discharged from Military Service and Some Other Persons" of the provisions of Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026" and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1778, which provide for the application of reducing coefficients to the part of the pension exceeding ten subsistence minimums, is unlawful as it effectively leads to limiting the right to proper social protection guaranteed by Article 46 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

The court in case 580/1002/26 also concluded that the actions of the Pension Fund regarding the payment of the pension to the plaintiff with the application of such coefficients do not comply with the requirements of Articles 19 and 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 2 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine and are therefore unlawful.

Result

The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Cherkasy region and left unchanged the decision of the Cherkasy District Administrative Court and the ruling of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal.

The ruling is final and not subject to appeal.

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