According to current legislation, military personnel can retire earlier. An initiative has appeared in the Rada proposing to expand the list of grounds for retiring military personnel according to length of service and to accelerate the process of obtaining preferential length of service. Thus, the number of people receiving social assistance will increase. So, is the state in a position to ensure that good will is enforced against those who defend the country?
The issue of pension for military personnel is regulated by the “Law on Pensions of Persons Discharged from Military Service and Certain Other Persons” adopted in 1992. As it is known, people in these categories can retire earlier, taking into account their length of service. The procedure for calculating the length of service is specified in the decision of the Council of Ministers No. 393 dated 17 July 1992. Accordingly, in particular, the following are counted as periods of service:
- Military service in the Armed Forces, State Border Service, National Guard, etc.;
- in the internal affairs bodies, state fire protection, civil protection bodies and units, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Economic Security Bureau, etc. service;
- Time spent in captivity or as a hostage when the capture or hostage taking is not voluntary.
The decision provides Participation in wartime hostilities is subject to preferential conditions – one month of service for three people. Recently, bill 9680 was registered in the Rada, which proposes to amend the said law regarding the registration of certain types of service for the period of service during martial law (special period) and the time spent in captivity on preferential conditions.
New pension: What exactly do MPs propose to do with military payments?
“Military personnel staying in the field and barracks for long periods of time when they do not have comfortable living conditions… and being separated from their families for too long can lead to faster wear and tear of the body, leading to rapid death. stress, unpredictability, dietary changes, disrupted sleep schedule, load, etc. deterioration in general health due to the disease,” says the explanatory note of project number 9680.
Important
According to Alexey Goncharenko, who prepared the bill, “The length of service of both those who serve 24/7 in the field or in the barracks in military units and those who work in the background at civilian enterprises is 8 hours 5. Living at home every day of the week is the same as without privileges. “This situation is a violation of Article 24 and the 2nd paragraph of Article 64 of the Constitution and the general principles of justice and equality before the law.”
Mr. Goncharenko’s bill proposes to provide: During the period of martial law (special period) for military personnel of all military formations and other persons entitled to receive pensions in accordance with the Law “On the provision of pensions for persons discharged from military service and certain other persons”, the period of service is counted on preferential terms:
- while performing service duties during martial law (special period) – bimonthly monthly service;
- during Direct participation in the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defenseTo repel and deter armed aggression of the Russian Federation, being directly in the regions and during the implementation of these activities – one month of service for three people;
- while participating in hostilities – one month’s service for four people;
- time be in captivity – one month’s service for five people;
- length of stay If the person was captured in captivity due to wounds, became a disabled person due to shell shock or other damage to health received during hostilities or an injury, crush, injury or disease received while in captivity – one month’s service for six people.
Document discrimination and falsification for benefit purposes: What kind of a “Pandora’s chest” will the bill open?
The changes envisaged in the draft law no. 9680 primarily concern people who will retire within the scope of the “Law on Granting Retirement Pensions to Persons Discharged from Military Service and Certain Other Persons”.
Bill 9680 proposes that the period of participation in hostilities be counted as four months
“It is proposed to expand the list of types of services and periods that count towards the period of service for the purpose of granting pensions,” says Elena Voronkova, lawyer at Ivan Khomich Law Firm. – Yes, it was suggested It is proposed to introduce an increased equivalent grace period for military personnel participating in hostilities instead of three months of service – counting it as four months on preferential terms. New additional periods are also introduced for calculating service: the performance of service duties during martial law, the period of direct participation in the implementation of measures to ensure national security and defense, the time spent in captivity.
The attorney says the document does not pose any risk to active military retirees. “This is for those who are civil servants and those who are about to retire.” Interest will be paid at a certain rate on the pension amount obtained from cash support. and the opportunity to retire early, if there are other legal grounds. And this will not affect people who already receive a pension,” notes Elena Voronkova.
Important
At the same time, GRACERS lawyer Anastasia Tsybulko believes that the draft law, if adopted, could push military personnel to abuse.
“Unscrupulous military personnel will look for various illegal ways to obtain documents to which the above-mentioned benefits will apply,” he says, “But on the other hand, these innovations can play an important role in military service, will serve as a certain incentive in the desire to serve and will be removed from hot spots “It will reduce the number of escaping “rabbits”.”
Additionally, there may be some discrimination against those who served before this law came into force.
Voronkova explains: “Since the final provisions of the draft indicate that this law will come into force on the day following its publication, this means persons who served and retired or served in various places before the law came into force.” “According to this law, those who are entitled to credit their time of service as a grace period, but who no longer serve, do not extend the force of the law.”
As you know, the payment of pensions of military personnel and additional payments are provided by the state budget. Thus, with the adoption of the proposed changes, the burden on the budget will increase. But that’s not the only reason economists take part in the survey. FocusThey are skeptical of the legislator’s idea.
First an audit: why the authorities fail to understand the pension system
Experts agree that those who defend Ukraine against Russian aggression should have good retirement prospects. However, it would be inconsistent to approve such an initiative without reforming the solidarity pension system.
Experts say that the adoption of Bill 9680 will increase the burden on the budget and that the law cannot be adopted until the pension system is reformed.
“I would postpone such a bill,” says Alexandra Betliy, a leading researcher at the Institute for Economic Research and Political Consultancy. “We need to understand what is happening in the solidarity system, what is happening in social pensions, and take a comprehensive approach to reform, otherwise we will have losses.” , if we double the length of service, providing additional benefits to people to whom we are grateful, the question arises: Is this the gratitude they need and can we deliver it? There are many laws and regulations in Ukraine that are not implemented because there is not enough money. “It would be less fair to impose preferential conditions that we can no longer finance than not to do so.”
In other words, according to experts, the current pension system needs to be audited before the legislative changes in question.
“Pension legislation is complex and cumbersome, and pensions depreciate over time. Within the pension system there are actually at least 12 different subsystems with their own rules for calculating pensions for different categories of citizens. This greatly complicates administration and causes a sense of injustice. For citizens and As a result, there is a low motivation to pay contributions to the solidarity system and a high level of challenge in the courts to the rules for calculating pensions,” wrote Deputy First Minister for Social Policy Darina Marchak on the social network.
According to him, the ministry is currently attracting experts from around the world to develop a design for reforming Ukraine’s pension system. However, according to financial expert Yaroslav Zhalilo, financial assistance to demobilized people should not be limited to pension problems.
Funding should be allocated to medical rehabilitation, retraining and housing assistance for demobilized people, experts say
“People defending the country must have clear and strong social security, including adequate pensions. Is it necessary to take into account the insurance period in this way? I have a question. Because what will happen next, people will retire quite early.” Not to ensure their retirement, but to ensure adequate restoration of their health, retraining and restoration of professional skills, housing assistance, etc. “More resources should be invested for this,” he is convinced.
Experts and lawyers are generally skeptical about the adoption of the bill. At least that’s what I said in our conversation Focus Representatives of the Servant of the People party hinted. Moreover, it does not seem possible for the document to reach the session hall in its current form.
Important
“It is directly stated in Article 17-1 of the law proposed to be amended. The article states that the procedure for calculating the length of service and determining the preferential conditions for granting pensions to persons entitled to receive pensions is determined and established by the Council of Ministers… In other words, there must be a decision of the Council of Ministers that will amend the existing decision,” says Natalya, lawyer of Riyako&Partners Law Firm Vasilyuk.
The lawyer is sure that when processing this document, the relevant committees should pay attention to the fact that such a law could be declared unconstitutional.
Source: Focus
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