In Ukraine, a pension cannot be lower than the limit set by the state. The basis for this limit is the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost their ability to work. In 2025, it is 2,361 hryvnia, and this amount is the legal minimum old-age pension. But in practice, most people receive more than this minimum, thanks to age and length of service supplements that the state has established for certain categories of pensioners. This was reported by the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine.
The mechanics look like this. The state has actually created several guaranteed "thresholds" below which the payment cannot fall. They depend on the person's age, their insurance experience, and whether the pensioner is officially employed. The older the person and the longer the experience, the higher this guaranteed minimum is.
The highest level is guaranteed to senior pensioners with experience. If a person is 65 years old and has a full work record (30 years for women and 35 years for men), then their monthly payment cannot be less than 3,758 hryvnias. The same threshold is applied to people over 80, but they require a slightly shorter length of service — 20 years for women and 25 years for men. This is the most protected group: the state recognizes that at this age people are usually no longer working and need stable support.
For the next age group — from 70 to 79 years — the guaranteed pension amount is slightly lower. If a person does not work and has a full insurance record, he is credited with at least 3,613 hryvnias per month. These are those who have not formally reached the threshold of 80+, but already have increased age-related expenses for treatment, medicines, and care.
Those who have not yet reached the age of 70, but have sufficient experience or belong to persons with disabilities of group I, also do not remain on the “bare” base of 2,361 hryvnia. For them, the state has established its lower level — 3,323 hryvnia per month. A separate level also exists for other non-working pensioners who do not fall into the listed categories. For them, the minimum actual amount of payment in 2025 has been determined at 3,038 hryvnia.
At the same time, there is a category of people for whom these increased guarantees do not work. These are working pensioners. They remain legally tied to the basic subsistence minimum. For them, the minimum pension in 2025 is the same 2,361 hryvnia. The state's logic here is simple: if a person continues to work, he has an additional source of income, so he does not receive part of the allowances that are accrued to non-working older pensioners.
The financial picture is uneven, but explainable. Two people can be pensioners at the same time and receive completely different payments, and both amounts will be "minimum" in the legal sense. For example, a 66-year-old woman with 30 years of experience who is not working should not fall below 3,758 hryvnias. And a 60-year-old man who is already retired but continues to work can receive 2,361 hryvnias - and formally the state fulfills its obligations to him.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the upper limit. In Ukraine, there is a limit on the maximum pension: currently the ceiling is fixed at 23,610 hryvnias per month. This is ten times the subsistence minimum for disabled people, and this level, according to the current government approach, will remain at least until 2027.
The result is this. Formally, the minimum pension is 2,361 hryvnias. In fact, for most elderly people who can no longer work, the minimum is much higher and starts at 3,000 hryvnias. The most protected are elderly people with a long service record, to whom the state guarantees at least 3,700 hryvnias per month. But those who continue to work after retirement remain at the bottom of this scale and do not receive age allowances.
