Cabinet proposes to protect minimum pension from debt collection

In Ukraine, it is proposed to establish an untouchable minimum pension during forced debt collection. After all deductions, a pensioner must be left with at least the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost their ability to work, which in 2026 amounts to 2595 UAH.

This was reported by People's Deputy Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk, commenting on the government bill on strengthening the protection of citizens' rights during the forced execution of decisions.

According to the proposed changes, deductions from a pension will be possible only if its size exceeds the subsistence minimum for disabled persons established by law. At the same time, after collection, the payment also cannot fall below this amount.

Currently, the legislation limits the maximum share that is allowed to be deducted from a pension. In particular, in certain cases, including the collection of alimony and compensation for certain types of damage, it can reach 50%, and for other types of collection — 20%.

However, as Vasylevska-Smahliuk noted, the current rules do not provide a separate guarantee of a specific minimum amount that should remain to the pensioner after deductions.

The bill proposes to keep the restrictions of 50% and 20% as the maximum allowable. But if the collection of the relevant share leads to the pensioner receiving less than the subsistence minimum, it will be impossible to deduct the entire calculated amount.

For example, if the pension amount is 3000 UAH, after collection the pensioner must in any case be left with at least 2595 UAH. Thus, the amount of the actual deduction in such a situation will be limited to 405 UAH, even if the percentage established for a particular type of collection allows deducting more.

At the same time, the debt will not be written off. The new norm should limit only the amount that can be deducted from the current pension payment: the outstanding part of the debt will continue to exist and be subject to execution.

In March 2023, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine already considered the issue of deductions from minimum pensions. The court declared unconstitutional the norms in the part in which they allowed, as a result of deductions, to leave a person with a pension below the subsistence minimum established by law.

The changes proposed by the Cabinet are still a bill, and for the new rules to enter into force they must be adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.

Based on materials: Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk