Good day! I will gladly help you understand this court decision.
1. The subject of the dispute is the actions of the Main Department of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Odesa region regarding the failure to index the plaintiff’s pension using certain increase coefficients.
2. The court of cassation, overturning the decisions of the previous courts, was guided by the following arguments:
* Indexation of pensions is a state guarantee aimed at maintaining the purchasing power of the population in the face of rising prices.
* The Law of Ukraine “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance” stipulates that the recalculation of pensions should be carried out by increasing the indicator of the average salary (income) in Ukraine, from which insurance contributions were paid, and which is taken into account for calculating the pension.
* Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 124, which provides for indexation based on the indicator as of October 1, 2017, contradicts the provisions of the Law, which has higher legal force.
* The court emphasized that when indexing pensions assigned in 2020-2023, it is the indicator of the average salary that was taken into account when assigning the pension that should be increased.
* The court deviated from the previous practice of applying the provisions of Procedure No. 124, recognizing that they should be applied only in the part that does not contradict Law No. 1058-IV.
* At the same time, the court took into account the terms of appeal to the court provided for by the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, and protected the plaintiff’s rights only within the six-month period before the appeal to the court.
3. The court of cassation decided to partially satisfy the claim, recognizing the actions of the Main Department of the Pension Fund as illegal and obliging it to recalculate and pay the pension, taking into account the relevant coefficients, but only for a period not exceeding six months before the plaintiff’s appeal to the court.
