Photo: Prime Minister Denis Shmygal (Vitaly Nosach, RBC-Ukraine) Author: Alexander Belous
Pensions and salaries for teachers and doctors in Ukraine will be paid on time, and their indexation will take place in March, as provided by law.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a statement by Prime Minister Denis Shmygal at a government meeting.
Shmygal noted that financing the 2024 budget deficit and the macro-financial situation have become the topic of active discussions in recent days. Next year, Ukraine will require more than $37 billion in external financing.
“We, of course, count on the support of our international partners. After all, we now have agreements with eleven countries on multi-year financing programs. There is an extended financing program with the IMF. We have the support of other international financial organizations,” he said.
According to him, the government clearly understands what tools and options they have.
“And most importantly, pensions will be paid on time in the future. Indexation will take place in March 2024, as provided by law. The salaries of teachers and doctors will also be paid on time,” Shmygal added.
Pension indexation
Let us remind you that the Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych said that the Ukrainian government may cancel the indexation of pensions planned from March 1 in the event of a delay in Western financial assistance.
Earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko told the Financial Times that Ukraine would likely have to postpone the payment of pensions and salaries to civil servants if the EU and the US do not provide promised financial assistance early next year.
Later, Sviridenko tried to clarify her statement for the foreign press on her Facebook. In particular, she said that there is a risk of delays in the long term, and the government has a plan B at the beginning of 2024, but did not specify what it is.
The Ministry of Social Policy proposed indexing pensions in 2024 from March 1, as defined by law. The amount of indexation will depend on the level of inflation and average salary. We can talk about them at the beginning of 2024 after the receipt of statistical data for 2023.