Retirement age in 2026: how many years of service do Ukrainians need?
This has been reported by the Main Directorate of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The proposal to change the approach to the minimum pension is also mentioned in petition No. 41/009950-26ep.
What length of service will be required in 2026
In 2026, some Ukrainians will not be able to retire at 60 due to insurance record requirements.
The Pension Fund has reminded the public that the retirement age in Ukraine depends on the length of insurance service accrued.
A pension may be granted at 60, 63 or 65 years of age.
To retire at 60 in 2026, you must have at least 33 years of insurance record.
If a person does not have this length of service, they will be able to claim a pension later.
Conditions for a pension at 63 and 65
To be eligible for a pension at 63 in 2026, you must have at least 23 years of insurance record.
At 65, a pension will be granted to those with at least 15 years of insurance record.
The Pension Fund of Ukraine emphasises that the required insurance record is determined precisely on the date of reaching the relevant retirement age.
What is important for those reaching retirement age in 2025
Separate conditions will apply to Ukrainians who reach retirement age as early as 2025 but apply for a pension in 2026.
The previous requirements regarding length of service will apply to them.
To retire at 60, you need 32 years of insurance history.
For a pension at 63 – 22 years.
For a pension at 65 – 15 years.
How to apply for a pension
You can apply for a pension in person at any Pension Fund service centre, regardless of where you live.
You can also apply for a pension remotely via the Pension Fund’s e-services portal.
Ukrainians who worked in the temporarily occupied territories and have lost their documents can confirm their length of service through special commissions of the Pension Fund.
To do this, you can use your employment record book, other documents or statements from colleagues, including those living abroad.
Proposed changes to the minimum pension
Separately, a petition (No. 41/009950-26ep) has been registered in Ukraine proposing a change in the approach to determining the minimum pension.
The author of the initiative proposes that the minimum pension should be no less than 70% of the minimum wage.
For certain categories of citizens, it is proposed that payments be set at up to 120% of the minimum wage – depending on length of service and working conditions.
The text of the petition states that the current level of minimum pensions is insufficient, and that minimum payments should be directly linked to the level of the national minimum wage.
Status of the petition
The petition was registered on 22 May 2026.
At the time of publication, it had gathered 25 signatures out of the required 25,000.
There are 90 days left until the end of the signature collection period.
In other words, this is not yet a decision that has been passed, but a proposal that must gather the necessary number of votes for further consideration.
What is the minimum pension in 2026
In 2026, the minimum pension in Ukraine will, as before, be linked to the subsistence minimum for people who have lost their ability to work.
Currently, this subsistence minimum stands at 2,595 UAH.
This is precisely what the minimum pension will be in 2026.
At the same time, the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons is set at 3,328 UAH, and the general subsistence minimum at 3,209 UAH.
Pension indexation in 2026
From 1 March 2026, the annual pension indexation took place in Ukraine.
The overall indexation coefficient was 1.121, corresponding to an approximate 12.1% increase in the calculated portion of pensions.
Following the recalculation, the increase for different categories of pensioners ranged from around 100 UAH to approximately 2,595 UAH – depending on length of service and pension amount.
On average, pensions increased by approximately 600–650 UAH following the indexation.
A separate recalculation was carried out for working pensioners. For them, payments were revised to take account of their updated insurance record.
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