In Ukraine, the only source of finance for many pensioners is pension payments. But during the war, there may be interruptions in their payment due to a budget deficit.. The situation was clarified by the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oksana Zholnovych in an interview with Mind. ua.

She assured that Ukraine will be able to pay pensions and social assistance on time.

“We survived a difficult situation at the beginning of 2022 and coped with it - pensions and social benefits are accrued and paid on time. In particular, we see a predicted increase in contributions to the Pension Fund: revenues in January-August amounted to UAH 330 billion, which is UAH 50 billion more than in the same period last year,” the official explained..

The head of the department added that the role of the Ministry of Social Policy is to transfer payments to the State Treasury, the distribution of funds to people's accounts takes place there.. There is a certain priority, the so-called payment competition.

“If our payment arrives at the same time as the APU payment, then the APU payment will be processed first. That is, the payroll of the Ministry of Social Policy will wait until they collect money for the military. But we are second in line, so delays through the Treasury are usually minor and mostly technical.. Of course, a full-scale war makes its own adjustments not only to the revenue part of the budget, but also to the need to redirect funds to priority areas, in particular, to the military,” she explained..

According to the presentation of the general budget for 2023, today's priority - 50% of all expenses will be directed specifically to military needs and overcoming Russian aggression. But the second direction in terms of spending, approximately 35% of the total budget, is directed to social purposes..

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Will social payments and pensions increase in 2023?.

The state budget for 2023 includes an increase in pensions and social benefits, but it is insignificant and, in fact, is frozen at the subsistence level.

According to Oksana Zholnovich, in the average annual measurement of 2023, the cost of living will increase by 5.4% compared to 2022.

At the same time, she promised that the department would take measures to improve the standards of support for socially vulnerable groups of the population..