Pension recalculation in 2026: which payments will increase and by how much

In 2026, a major pension recalculation is planned in Ukraine. Although the indexation will take place on March 1, not all pensioners will receive an increase. Some of them will be left without any additional payments.

A lawyer specializing in pension issues, Mykhailo Vulakh, spoke on his YouTube channel about the details of the indexation, who it applies to, and how much the minimum pension will increase. He noted that in 2026, the pension fund is planned to increase by 123 billion hryvnias, about 10% more than last year. This, in turn, may lead to an increase in the average monthly pension by 100 hryvnias for every thousand. For example, a retirement, which is currently 5,000 hryvnias, may increase to 5,500 hryvnias after indexation. However, this is an average figure, and many pensioners may not feel it.

The mechanism for calculating indexation is based on the formula: 50% of annual inflation + a 50% increase in the average salary. If inflation is 15% and wages grow by 10%, indexation can reach about 12.5%. However, during martial law, the government can reduce the coefficient; last year, this figure was only 11.5%, and in 2026, it may even be lower.

From January 1, the minimum pension will be 2,595 hryvnias, which is only 234 hryvnias more than the current 2,361 hryvnias. At the same time, prices for food, utilities, and medicines have already increased by an average of 25–50%. According to Mykhailo Vulakh, such an increase cannot be called fair. He noted: “When the pension increases by 234 hryvnias, and expenses by one and a half thousand, this is not support, but mockery.”

The lawyer gave an example that illustrates a pensioner’s financial situation: after paying for medicines (400 hryvnias) and utilities (300 hryvnias with a subsidy), the balance is only 1,895 hryvnias per month, about 61 hryvnias per day. With these funds, it is difficult to provide even basic food, since artificial intelligence offered only the cheapest products.

Two categories of pensioners may not hope for indexation: the first are those who receive special pensions (judges, prosecutors, deputies), whose payments are adjusted according to the availability of additional budgetary funds; the second are pensioners who have recently retired, with “modernized” payments.

As for working pensioners, indexation will apply to both working and unemployed pensioners.

Increasing pensions does not harm the state budget; on the contrary, it stimulates the economy, as pensioners spend the money they receive on the domestic market. This helps create new jobs and tax revenues. However, according to Mykhailo Vulakh, the people’s deputies who form the budget seem to have forgotten about the pensioners who voted for them.

Thus, the upcoming pension recalculation has raised many questions and concerns among Ukrainians, especially those who depend on state payments.