Last year, nearly UAH 800 billion of social assistance was paid to Ukrainians: Prime Minister

From the first days of the full-scale invasion the Government has done everything possible to help those affected by war. These are internally displaced persons, people of retirement age, people with disabilities, large families. Under unprecedentedly difficult circumstances, all social benefits were paid without interruption. In total, last year they were allocated and paid in the amount of almost UAH 800 billion. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a Government session on January 10.

“Almost 11 million pensioners received pension payments in a timely manner for a total amount of over UAH 575 billion. This was due to conscientious payment of the single social contribution by employers: the Pension Fund received over UAH 375 billion. This is almost 6% more than planned,” said Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister also noted that in 2022 pensions were indexed and increased by 16% on average. At the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Government provided additional payments of UAH 300 for people aged 70-75, UAH 400 for pensioners aged 75-80, and up to UAH 500 for people aged 80+.

“The organizational model of social insurance has changed. Now it is implemented by the Pension Fund of Ukraine. It approves, allocates and pays housing subsidies, as well as sick leave, maternity leave, monthly and one-time insurance payments. This makes the support system faster, more flexible and targeted,” the Prime Minister said.

In addition, the Government has kept utility tariffs for the population unchanged. According to Denys Shmyhal, 2.5 million households received housing subsidies in the amount of UAH 24.7 billion last year. Another UAH 12.7 billion was provided as benefits for the payment of utilities.

In total, the Prime Minister noted, in 2022 the state paid:

• UAH 10.2 billion of assistance at childbirth;
• UAH 13.7 billion to low-income families;
• UAH 14.8 billion to persons with disabilities, including children;
• UAH 5.5 billion to large families.

Also, UAH 29 billion was paid as social insurance benefits. Of these, more than UAH 12 billion is sick leave.