In January 2018, the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine A. Reva stated that not all internally displaced persons have the right to this status. The politician’s statement caused a wave of panic among the immigrants and the indignation of public figures who are aware of the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe. Do I need to cross the border every 58 days? The issues that concern pensioners and their families only increased with the latest changes - the introduction of a new stage of verification of IDPs receiving state assistance.
Pensioners in the Donbass: the scale of the disaster
In the DPR, from the moment pensions began to be paid and as of December 2017, 81 billion rubles were spent on social security. 681 thousand recipients of pensions live in the territory not controlled by Ukraine, about 14 thousand of them are former employees of law enforcement agencies and various departments. The minimum wage at the moment is 2730 rubles (this is 182 hryvnia less than a pension in Ukraine). In the DPR, unearned money is not paid for the whole time until the pensioner applied for social benefits.
Of course, this money is not enough to provide even basic needs, so pensioners have a very hard time if an elderly person does not have children or relatives who are ready to support him. Due to a lack of livelihoods, many apply for a pension to Ukraine, believing that the state for which they worked a quarter of a century is obliged to support their citizens in old age, regardless of where they live. There is some common sense in this - many pensioners have neither health nor money to go beyond the demarcation line for permanent residence.
Duration of stay in uncontrolled territory
How many days can I stay in uncontrolled territory? What are the conditions for receiving social assistance? Do I need to cross the border every 58 days? The Minister of Social Policy clearly indicated that payments (and this applies not only to pensions, but also to other social assistance) are terminated if a person is in the territory beyond the control of Ukraine for more than 60 days.
So, a pensioner who does not want to be deprived of his pension is forced to cross the demarcation line between the DPR and Ukraine every 59 days. Why then is everyone talking about 58 days? Do I need to cross the border every 58 days or can I wait a maximum of 59? The fact is that the work of the checkpoints is quite unstable and in one day you can not leave the DPR. Therefore, people are “safe”, having one more free day left in order not to worry if it was not possible to cross the border immediately.
The period of stay in uncontrolled territory may be extended if there are good reasons for this. For example, a disease that is confirmed by a certificate. Additionally, you need to contact the Office of Social Security. In this case, the period may be extended to 90 days, but if after that the pensioner does not cross the border, the social service concludes that something happened, and then stop paying. The problem here is that Ukraine does not accept certificates issued in the DPR, so it will be practically impossible to confirm the fact of the disease.
Grounds for termination of payments
There are other reasons for stopping social assistance payments to citizens. In addition to staying in uncontrolled territory for too long, this may not be confirmation of the fact of residence in the verification procedure.In the Donbass SOS argue that in this case it is necessary to get a decision on the termination of social benefits, which will describe the reasons for the refusal to pay pensions. This paper is the basis for appeal and resumption of payments.
What will happen to pensions next?
Due to the difficult economic and demographic situation, the government refuses to raise pensions. The issue of freezing pensions for elderly people from uncontrolled territories is getting louder. Amendments to the pension reform have already been announced. What will happen to pensions next is not yet known.
So, do I need to cross the border every 58 days? Yes, this should be done by all pensioners receiving social security in Ukraine, otherwise payments will simply be frozen, and getting a pension is not so simple. Therefore, older people are forced to stand in long lines at checkpoints and risk their health for the money that the state is obliged to pay them.
