Radical changes are being prepared in the pension system in Ukraine. Special pensions that judges, prosecutors, and security forces have received for years may soon be a thing of the past. This was stated by People's Deputy Danylo Hetmantsev, emphasizing that this is not only an economic solution, but above all, about justice.
Today in Ukraine there is a small group of people to whom the state continues to pay pensions of tens or even hundreds of thousands of hryvnias per month. These “caste” payments are the embodiment of a blatant inequality in the social security system. While most Ukrainians receive pensions less than the subsistence minimum, former judges and security forces enjoy financial benefits that are increasingly difficult to explain to society. According to Hetmantsev, in conditions where half of pensioners receive less than 5 thousand hryvnias, and the minimum pension is 2361 hryvnias, payments of 100 thousand look like a public spit in the direction of the people.
The Verkhovna Rada has already prepared a bill that provides for the gradual abolition of special pensions. It has been considered in the relevant committee, and the document is being prepared for the second reading. At the same time, the updated version of the bill establishes new principles for calculating payments for prosecutors. From now on, only those prosecutors who have worked for at least 25 years, of which at least 15 in prosecutorial positions, will be entitled to a long-service pension. The retirement age for them is set at 65 years — for persons born after January 1, 1986. Payment of such a pension will be possible only after final dismissal from the prosecutor's office.
The changes will also affect disability pensions. They will be assigned on a general basis in accordance with the law "On General Mandatory State Pension Insurance." In addition, an annual automatic recalculation of pensions is provided, taking into account indexation - the same as for ordinary pensioners.
The proposed steps demonstrate the state's intention to overcome the system of double standards. If the law is adopted in the second reading, it will be a signal to the entire society: the era of elitist pensions is coming to an end, and the principle of equality is gradually starting to work not only in words, but also in numbers.
