To the attention of Ukrainian pensioners living in Germany.

Over the past four years, German social security authorities have developed a robust practice regarding Ukrainian pensions. While many issues remained unresolved in the early years after the war, today the agencies are well versed in the mechanisms for identifying, restoring access to, and receiving Ukrainian pensions from abroad.

One typical case from practice. A Ukrainian pensioner had previously notified the German agency that she could not access her Ukrainian pension. For this reason, her income was not taken into account when calculating social benefits. However, after some time, the agency issued an official request to take steps to restore access to the pension and provide proof of its amount, as well as indicate the date on which access was restored.

The letter explicitly states that receiving a Ukrainian pension from Germany is currently considered feasible. German authorities assume that Ukrainian banks provide remote identification, open accounts online, and send bank cards abroad. They maintain that restoring access to a pension does not require a trip to Ukraine and can be arranged from Germany, including through online banking and digital services.

From a German social law perspective, this means the following: if income is objectively possible, the recipient is obligated to take reasonable and feasible steps to restore it. A Ukrainian pension is considered income that affects the amount of Bürgergeld or social assistance. Accordingly, authorities have the right to request proof of attempts to restore the pension and take this into account when recalculating it.

Failure to comply with such requests may result in a review of payments, reduction of assistance, or even a demand for the return of previously paid amounts.

The argument “I don’t receive a pension” is no longer automatically accepted if the agency believes that the technical and legal possibility of receiving it exists.

That's why it's important for Ukrainian pensioners in Germany to understand in advance how government authorities currently view this issue, what actions they may be required to take, and how to properly communicate their position in their correspondence with agencies. Passive anticipation or formal responses without legal justification are increasingly leading to problems.

Such situations are becoming more common, and they're no longer exceptions but established practice. If you live in Germany, receive social benefits, and are eligible for a Ukrainian pension, it's important to be prepared and act wisely.

Follow my blog, I regularly analyze real cases and letters from German government agencies and explain how this works in practice.