Ukrainians with temporary protection or refugee status will receive pensions, benefits in country of residence - Lubinets

According to Ukrinform, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, reported this on his Telegram channel.

According to the ombudsman, government decree No. 328 provides for the possibility of receiving pension payments by international transfers through Ukrposhta, provided that it has the technical capability. This is especially relevant for pensioners who do not have current accounts opened in Ukrainian banks.

In addition, it is stipulated that an application for payment of a pension or financial assistance may be accepted by a body of the Pension Fund of Ukraine or a social protection body through the institutions of an authorized bank, in particular in electronic form using an electronic signature based on a qualified electronic signature certificate of the recipient and an authorized bank employee.

Lubinets noted that he supports the approved amendments to the legislation, "because they regulate the payment of pensions and financial assistance to Ukrainian citizens who, as a result of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, were forced to leave their homes and seek protection abroad, following the recommendations I provided to the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine in this regard.

Thus, Ukrainian citizens who have been granted temporary protection in other countries or refugee status have simplified the mechanism for receiving pension payments and financial assistance without leaving the territory of Ukraine.

The adopted changes will facilitate the realization of the right of Ukrainian citizens to state pensions and financial assistance.

As Ukrinform reported, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union activated the so-called Temporary Protection Directive for the first time in its history to accept refugees from Ukraine, which has already been used by 3.8 million Ukrainian citizens.