The military widow's pension was underestimated due to not accounting for all components of monetary allowance — the appeal ruled in her favor
The First Administrative Court of Appeal considered the appeal of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kyiv against the decision of the Luhansk District Administrative Court in a case regarding the correct calculation of a pension due to the loss of a breadwinner. The dispute arose because the Pension Fund assigned the widow of the deceased military pensioner a pension based on a lower amount of monetary allowance than that on which the pension of the breadwinner himself was actually calculated at the time of his death.
Essence of the case
The plaintiff has been receiving a pension due to the loss of a breadwinner since July 14, 2025, following the death of her husband, who was a pensioner under the Law "On Pension Provision for Persons Released from Military Service and Some Other Persons."
After assigning the pension, the Pension Fund determined its amount as 30% of the monetary allowance of the deceased breadwinner in the amount of UAH 14,543.55. During the calculation, the official salary, military rank salary, length-of-service allowance, allowance for work under regime restrictions, scientific degree supplement, and bonus were taken into account.
However, during his lifetime, the breadwinner repeatedly defended in courts his right to a proper recalculation of his pension. By decisions of the Luhansk District Administrative Court, the Pension Fund was obliged to recalculate his pension considering all components of the monetary allowance specified in the certificate of the State Institution "Territorial Medical Association of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Luhansk Region," and to apply a pension percentage of 90% of the monetary allowance without a maximum limit.
As a result of the court decisions, since 2023, the breadwinner's pension was calculated based on a monetary allowance of UAH 39,494.62, which included not only salaries and length-of-service allowance but also the average monthly amount of additional types of monetary allowance over 24 months, including allowance for specific service conditions, bonuses, and other payments.
After her husband's death, the plaintiff applied to the Pension Fund for a recalculation of her assigned pension due to the loss of a breadwinner, stating that it should be calculated based on the same monetary allowance on which the breadwinner's pension was calculated at the time of his death. However, the Pension Fund refused such recalculation, citing the absence of grounds to consider the monetary allowance certificate dated June 18, 2021.
The Luhansk District Administrative Court recognized the Pension Fund's actions as unlawful, obliged it to recalculate the plaintiff's pension and determine its amount based on the monetary allowance of UAH 39,494.62. Disagreeing with this decision, the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kyiv filed an appeal.
Position and conclusions of the court
The appellate court in case No. 360/2519/25 noted that according to Articles 43 and 45 of Law No. 2262-XII, pensions for family members of servicemen and other persons entitled to pension provision under this law are calculated based on the amount of monetary allowance on which the pension of the breadwinner himself was calculated.
The panel of judges emphasized that such monetary allowance includes not only the official salary, military rank salary, and length-of-service allowance but also all monthly additional types of monetary allowance, supplements, increases, and bonuses provided by law.
The court established that from April 1, 2023, until the day of the breadwinner's death, his pension was actually calculated based on a monetary allowance of UAH 39,494.62. This amount was taken into account during the execution of court decisions on pension recalculation and was used by the Pension Fund in determining the breadwinner's pension amount.
At the same time, when assigning the plaintiff's pension due to the loss of a breadwinner, the defendant used the previous monetary allowance amount — UAH 14,543.55, which was applied before recalculations following court decisions.
The panel of judges concluded that this approach contradicts the requirements of Article 45 of Law No. 2262-XII, since the pension due to the loss of a breadwinner should be calculated based on the monetary allowance on which the breadwinner's pension was calculated at the time of death.
The appellate court agreed with the conclusions of the first-instance court regarding the unlawfulness of the Pension Fund's actions in assigning the pension based on the amount of UAH 14,543.55 and recognized the obligation to recalculate and pay the pension from July 14, 2025, based on the monetary allowance of UAH 39,494.62.
As a result, the First Administrative Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Kyiv and left the decision of the Luhansk District Administrative Court unchanged. The ruling came into legal force on June 15, 2026.
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