A breadwinner is a natural person who provides maintenance to other natural persons or is obliged to provide such maintenance. With regard to the right to social security, the breadwinner’s death entails the emergence of the right to a survivor’s pension for disabled family members of the deceased who were maintained by him (Большой юридический словарь. — М.: Инфра-М. А. Я. Сухарев, В. Е. Крутских, А.Я. Сухарева. 2003).
In accordance with current legislation in the Donetsk People’s Republic in the field of the implementation of constitutional rights of citizens to pension provision, a survivor’s pension is assigned to disabled family members of the deceased breadwinner that were maintained by him, if the breadwinner has a insurance fund on the day of his death that was necessary for the assignment of a 3d group disability pension. In case of the pensioner’s death or persons whose disability has come during military service, regardless of the duration of the qualifying period.
Children are entitled to a survivor’s pension regardless of whether they were maintained by the deceased breadwinner. Parents and a spouse of the deceased who were not maintained by him can count on this pension, but if they lost their source of livelihood after death.
Disabled family members are:
1) husband (wife), father, mother, if they are disabled or have reached retirement age;
2) children of the deceased breadwinner who have not reached the age of 18 or older than this age, if they became disabled before reaching the age of 18;
In addition, children who study full-time in general educational institutions of the general secondary education system, as well as vocational, higher educational institutions – until such children graduate from educational institutions, but no longer than until they reach the age of 23, and orphan children – until they reach the age of 23, regardless of whether they are studying or not;
3) husband (wife), and in their absence – one of the parents or brother or sister, grandfather or grandmother of the deceased breadwinner, regardless of age and ability to work, if he (she) does not work and is busy looking after a child (children) of the deceased breadwinner until he (they) reach the age of 8.
At the same time, the above persons are considered to be family members who were maintained by the deceased breadwinner if they:
1) were fully maintained by the deceased breadwinner;
2) received help from the deceased breadwinner, which was for them a constant and main source of livelihood.
It should be noted that the provisions of the current legislation concerning the family of the deceased, respectively, apply to the family of a person recognized as missing or declared deceased in the manner prescribed by law.
Adopted children are entitled to a survivor’s pension on an equal basis with the breadwinner’s own children.
The stepson and stepdaughter have the right to a survivor’s pension on an equal basis with the breadwinner’s own children, if they have not received alimony from their parents.
Minor children who are eligible for a survivor’s pension retain this right in the event of their adoption.
Thus, in accordance with the Decree of the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic of 23 December 2020 No. 452 “On increasing the size of pensions” by the Pension Fund of the Donetsk People’s Republic from 1 July 2021, the amount of the minimum pension and survivor’s pension for each disabled family member is 6570.72 Russian rubbles.
(This note is based on the norms established by Articles 36-39 of the Law of Ukraine No. 1058 dated 09.07.2003 “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance”, applied in the DPR before the adoption of the relevant legislation for the duration of the transitional period, in part that does not contradict the Constitution of the DPR).
