A military pension is tied to the pay of those serving now. Under Article 43 of Law of Ukraine No. 2262-XII “On Pension Provision for Persons Discharged from Military Service and Certain Other Persons”, it is calculated from the post salary, the rank salary, the long-service supplement and the monthly additional elements of pay. As soon as the state raises the pay of the corresponding category of service personnel, or changes the size of even one of those elements, the pensioner acquires the right to have the pension recalculated (Art. 63 of the same law). Article 51 fixes the moment: the recalculation takes effect from the first day of the month following the one in which those circumstances arose.
In practice the Pension Fund answers most applications with a refusal worded “no legal grounds” or “the recalculation mechanism has not been determined by the Cabinet of Ministers”. For several years the pay used for recalculation purposes was effectively held at the level set by Cabinet Resolution No. 103 of 21 February 2018, and military pensioners obtained recalculations mainly through the courts. The case law is on their side: model case No. 400/6254/24 (the Cassation Administrative Court’s decision of 16 December 2024 and the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court’s ruling of 13 March 2025) gave the lower courts their bearings, and they now order the Pension Fund to recalculate and pay the difference, sometimes for more than three years.
We check whether the right to a recalculation has in fact arisen and from what date, help you obtain an updated pay certificate, file the application with the Pension Fund, and, if it is refused, challenge that refusal in the administrative court on the basis of the Supreme Court’s position.
When the right to a recalculation arises
Under Law No. 2262-XII and the Supreme Court’s case law, the grounds are:
Grounds for recalculation
- an increase in the pay of the corresponding category of service personnel (Art. 63);
- a change in the size of at least one of the elements of pay from which the pension was calculated: the post salary, the rank salary, the long-service supplement;
- the introduction of new monthly additional elements of pay that count towards the calculation;
- an increase in length of service after returning to service: a pensioner called up during mobilisation who served and was discharged again is entitled to have the pension calculated on the new length of service and the new pay.
The key document is an updated certificate of pay as at the date the ground arose. It is issued by the body responsible for your former service: the territorial recruitment centre for those discharged from the Armed Forces, or the relevant unit of the Interior Ministry, National Guard, State Emergency Service or other agency for everyone else. The certificate must list every element that goes into the pension. A refusal to issue it “for want of grounds” is unlawful in itself, and the courts order such bodies to issue these certificates.
For what period the shortfall is repaid: the 12-month rule and its exception
Article 51 of Law No. 2262-XII contains two rules that are often confused.
The recalculation takes effect from the first day of the month following the one in which the circumstances arose, and if the pensioner applied late, the difference for the past is paid for no more than 12 months before the application.
Where the recalculation was not carried out through the fault of the Pension Fund or of the body that should have issued the certificate, it is made from the date the right arose, with no time limit at all.
It is on that exception that most judgments rest: where the ground arose and the Pension Fund either did not recalculate or refused, the court finds the body at fault and awards the difference for the whole period, crediting what has already been paid. Compensation for the loss of part of one’s income through late payment can be claimed separately. So in the claim we always seek both the recalculation itself and the arrears, with a specific start date.
What the court examines in a recalculation case
A dispute with the Pension Fund is heard by the district administrative court where the pensioner lives, and the scope of review is narrow. The court establishes three things: whether the circumstance the law links to a recalculation has occurred (a new government resolution, a pay order, new length of service); whether it is reflected in the pay certificate; and whether the Pension Fund applied Arts. 43, 51 and 63 of Law No. 2262-XII correctly. The size of the pension itself, its “fairness” or the claimant’s means are not assessed.
It follows that cases are won not by an emotional application but by the right file: a certificate listing every element, an application to the Pension Fund stamped as received, a written refusal, and a month-by-month calculation of the shortfall. If the certificate was issued without the supplement for special conditions of service or without the additional elements of pay, the certificate itself has to be challenged first, and only then the recalculation. Entitlement to a long-service pension often depends on the ground of discharge from service, so we look at those questions together. Pension disputes generally are handled by our pensions lawyer, and service personnel’s disputes by our military lawyer.
A case from our practice
In 2025 a retired lieutenant colonel came to us who had been drawing a pension since 2016. The recruitment centre had issued him a pay certificate without the supplement for the particular conditions of his service, and on that basis the Pension Fund refused a recalculation “for want of grounds”. We obtained a fresh certificate listing every element, filed a second application, and after a second refusal brought an administrative claim with a month-by-month calculation of the shortfall. The court ordered the Pension Fund to recalculate from the date the right arose and to pay the difference for about two and a half years, roughly 90,000 UAH. About ten months passed from the first visit to the money arriving, four of them on enforcement (details changed).
How we run a military pension recalculation case
- we identify which ground for recalculation arose in your case, and from what date;
- we prepare the application to the service body for an updated pay certificate and, where necessary, challenge an incomplete one;
- we file the recalculation application with the territorial office of the Pension Fund and record the answer;
- if it is refused, we prepare an administrative claim citing Arts. 43, 51 and 63 of Law No. 2262-XII and model case No. 400/6254/24;
- in court we establish the right to the recalculation and to arrears from the date the right arose;
- we see the judgment enforced: where needed we apply for judicial supervision (Art. 382 CAP) or open enforcement proceedings.
Typical mistakes before people come to us
The most expensive is treating the Pension Fund’s refusal as final: the wording “no legal grounds” is precisely what the courts set aside most often. Next in cost: filing with a certificate that omits some elements of pay, in which case the recalculation is either not carried out or carried out at too low a figure, and it is that figure you then have to challenge. Pensioners often ask for a recalculation “going forward” only and claim no arrears, losing the payments for past years. Procedural slips also occur: suing the Pension Fund as a legal entity instead of the territorial office, missing the deadline, filing without a calculation — and the case ends on procedural grounds rather than on the merits. Each of these mistakes costs money the law guarantees to the pensioner.
Cost of services (military pension recalculation)
In 2026 the court fee for an individual’s administrative claim is 0.4 of the subsistence minimum — 1,331.20 UAH, or 1,064.96 UAH through the Electronic Court. Combat veterans and people with group I–II disabilities are exempt under Art. 5 of the Law “On Court Fees”; we check whether the exemption applies to you before filing.
Questions and answers (military pension recalculation)
Can the case be handled remotely if I do not live in Kyiv?
Yes. Applications to the service body and the Pension Fund go by post or through the online portal, the claim through the Electronic Court, and administrative courts hold hearings by video. The pensioner is rarely needed in person; the lawyer files everything under a power of attorney.
How long do I have to go to court after the Pension Fund refuses?
Under Art. 122 CAP the general period is six months from the day you learned of the breach, that is from the date of the refusal. Since non-payment of a pension continues month by month, courts often treat the breach as continuing, but it is not worth relying on that: better to file within six months of the written refusal.
The Pension Fund recalculated, but the figure is lower than I expected. What now?
Ask the Pension Fund for a written calculation listing every element and compare it with the pay certificate. If an element was left out, or a reduction coefficient was applied that cuts a previously guaranteed amount, that decision is challenged in just the same way as a refusal.
There is a judgment but no money. How do I make the Pension Fund comply?
First we file the judgment and the writ with the Pension Fund together with an application for payment. If nothing is paid within a reasonable time, we apply to the court for judicial supervision (Art. 382 CAP) or open enforcement proceedings with the State Enforcement Service. In practice enforcement takes one to four months.
Can heirs receive an underpaid pension of someone who has died?
Yes. Amounts calculated but unpaid by the date of death are paid to family members and, failing them, form part of the estate. If the court has already ordered the Pension Fund to recalculate, the heirs may join the case as successors or recover the sum awarded through the succession.
Can the pension be recalculated every time pay is raised?
Yes, every new increase is a separate ground and an application can be made each time. Winning once does not guarantee that the Pension Fund will carry out the next recalculation voluntarily, but an existing judgment makes the repeat case much simpler.
Contact Svarog about recalculating a military pension
At the consultation we will assess whether the right to a recalculation has arisen, from what date, and how much of the arrears can realistically be recovered. If an application to the Pension Fund settles it, we will prepare the application and the certificate without going to court; if a claim is needed, we run the case through to the money arriving. On related matters we also help with recovering service members’ pay.