Legal support for an IDP from Kupyansk district: how Caritas Kharkiv helped Ivanna get a fair survivor's pension

In May of this year, Ivanna*, an IDP from Kupyansk district with a group II disability, turned to lawyer Andriy Eliseev from the charitable organization Caritas Kharkiv. She encountered difficulties when trying to draw up documents on her own to receive a survivor's pension in accordance with the law.

Due to the constant shelling, Ivanna was forced to leave her home and move to Kharkiv, while her husband remained in Kupiansk. In March 2024, he was tragically killed as a result of a direct hit to the house. Ivanna was dependent on her husband, as her pension as a person with a group II disability was minimal. Her husband received a much higher pension, having the status of a group II war veteran and a combatant in Afghanistan.

In April 2024, Ivanna applied for a survivor's pension to the Pension Fund of the Kyiv District of Kharkiv on her own, but received payments in an amount that did not meet legal standards. The pension fund did not take into account her deceased husband's status as a group II war veteran and her status as a family member of the deceased.

Needing help, Ivanna turned to a Caritas Kharkiv lawyer. Andriy helped her to submit a properly executed application for a survivor's pension, taking into account her husband's status as a war veteran.

Thanks to the professional support of the lawyer, Ivanna received a pension in a much larger amount in accordance with the current legislation, and the debt that arose as a result of the recalculation of the pension was paid.

The charitable organization Caritas Kharkiv provides free legal aid to victims of war in cooperation with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) thanks to the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

*Name changed