Ukraine to seize money from pensioners’ bank accounts
The Ukrainian government has introduced controversial pension provisions that could lead to billions of hryvnias being withdrawn from pension accounts, according to an analysis of Ukraine’s 2025 budget draft by business news site Ekonomicheskaya Pravda (EP).
The outlet studied the bill approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on September 13, which was presented to the parliament last week. According to a report published on Friday, the government plans to cut social spending by more than 10%, or around $1.2 billion, primarily by decreasing subsidies to Ukraine’s pension fund.
The most contentious provision, outlined in Article 41, mandates Oschadbank – the financial institution managing pension accounts in Ukraine – to transfer funds from accounts with no activity over the past 12 months back to the government.
Additionally, the government proposed seizing funds from the accounts of displaced pensioners who miss their “physical identification” deadline by more than six months. Internally displaced pensioners or those living abroad are required to confirm their status annually. Otherwise, they risk losing payments.
Oschadbank declined to comment on the number of affected pensioners’ accounts or the total amount that could be seized.
The Ministry of Finance estimates this sum to be at least $275 million, according to EP. The Ministry of Social Policy told EP that the new provision would primarily affect those who received internally displaced person status prior to February 2022.
Some lawmakers oppose this provision and are preparing for “fierce political battles” over the 2025 budget, the publication noted. Ukraine’s draft state budget shows a deficit of 1.6 trillion hryvnias ($38.68 billion), with 2.22 trillion hryvnias ($53.6 billion) allocated to defense.
