More than UAH 187 billion allocated for social payments since beginning of year - MoF
During the first five months of 2024, UAH 187.29 billion was allocated from the state budget for social payments, including UAH 113.9 billion for pension payments.
According to Ukrinform, the press service of the Ministry of Finance reports.
"In January-May 2024, UAH 187.2 billion was allocated from the state budget for social payments, including UAH 36.0 billion in May," the statement said.
According to the Ministry of Finance, UAH 113.9 billion was allocated to finance the payment of pensions, bonuses and increases to pensions granted under pension programmes and the deficit of the Pension Fund; UAH 32.7 billion was allocated to social protection of citizens in difficult life circumstances; UAH 6.4 billion was allocated to support low-income families; and UAH 23.0 billion was allocated to provide benefits and housing subsidies to citizens.
In addition, UAH 9.8 billion was allocated for social protection of children and families; UAH 1.4 billion was allocated for social protection of people with disabilities.
"Compared to the pre-war period, social expenditures have increased by 1.5 times, and the number of recipients has grown by 40%: from 3.6 million to almost 5 million people. The main reason for this is the forced displacement of people from their homes and the conditions created by the war when people lose their income, earnings, jobs, etc.", Deputy Minister of Finance Roman Yermolychev said.
According to him, despite all the obstacles, there are currently no social payment arrears in Ukraine, and all social needs are met in a timely manner and in full.
As reported, the state budget for 2024 provides almost UAH 470 billion for social expenditures, an increase of UAH 25 billion compared to 2023.