What will change from 1 October: tariffs, benefits, pensions and new rules

From 1 October 2026, a new period for calculating housing subsidies will begin in Ukraine; the preferential electricity tariff will be reinstated for some households with electric heating; and food producers must once again comply fully with labelling regulations. At the same time, there will be no general increase in pensions or the standard electricity tariff from the start of the month. There is also a specific change for recipients of social benefits paid via Ukreximbank.

The subsidies will be paid out for the heating season

The heating season for residential properties begins in Ukraine on 1 October subsidies. The Pension Fund will carry out a recalculation for most households automatically — There is no need to resubmit your documents. This also applies to those whose subsidy amount was 0 hryvnias in the summer.

You should contact the Pension Fund if you are applying for a subsidy for the first time, if you have not been granted one for the non-heating period, or if there have been changes to the composition of your household, the social status of family members or the list of utility services.

An important date — 30 November. If the necessary documents are submitted between 1 October and 30 November inclusive, the subsidy may be granted from the start of the heating season. If the application is submitted later, it will be granted from the month in which the application was submitted.

In this context, the standard period is taken into account when calculating heating costs specifically from 16 October to 15 April.

Electricity prices are not being increased

For most Ukrainian households, nothing will change from 1 October: electricity will cost 4.32 UAH per kWh. The government has extended this fixed price until at least 31 October 2026.

For dual-rate meters, the night-time rate applies: between 23:00 and 07:00, electricity costs half the standard rate.

However, for households where electricity is used as the main source of heating, October brings an important change.

Preferential pricing is being reintroduced for electric heating

From 1 October, a special rate applies to houses and flats with properly registered electric heating — 2.64 UAH per kWh for consumption of up to 2,000 kWh per month. The same mechanism applies to blocks of flats that are not connected to the gas network and do not have centralised or any other form of autonomous heating. Where consumption exceeds the set limit, a base price of 4.32 UAH per kWh applies.

In other words, for this particular group of consumers, their electricity bill at the start of the cold season may differ significantly from their summer bill.

Gas at 7.96 UAH remains

There will be no increase in the price of gas for most domestic consumers from 1 October either. For customers of the Naftogaz of Ukraine Group, the annual tariff «The »fixed’ rate is 7.96 UAH per cubic metre and remains in force until 30 April 2027 inclusive.

This is precisely the price of gas as a commodity. The bills also include a separate charge for its distribution, which depends on the gas distribution network operator and the volume of consumption.

Will pensions be increased from 1 October?

A new general indexation or a mass recalculation of pensions, effective from 1 October not provided. The main indexation for 2026 came into effect on 1 March. At the same time, age-related compensation payments remain in force. Pensioners who reach the relevant age and whose total pension payment is less than 10,340.35 UAH, the following applies:

• aged between 70 and 75 — up to 300 UAH;
• aged between 75 and 80 — up to 456 UAH;
• from 80 years — to 570 UAH.

Such supplementary payments are awarded automatically upon reaching the relevant age. They are not cumulative: when a person moves into the next age group, the total amount of compensation changes.

Ukreximbank is suspending payments from the Pension Fund

A specific change concerns Ukrainians who were receiving pensions, benefits, concessions or other state social payments via Ukreximbank.

From 1 October, the bank will cease its cooperation with the Pension Fund in relation to the processing of these payments. The Pension Fund had previously advised customers to open an account with another authorised bank by 15 September and to provide their new account details.

Those who have not done so do not lose their entitlement to the money. According to the Pension Fund’s clarification, payments in such cases will be made through its branches Ukrposhta.

Changes to food labelling rules

From 1 October, the simplified labelling rules for food and animal feed – which the government introduced in spring 2022 due to disruption to logistics and shortages of certain goods – will cease to apply.

Manufacturers and importers must once again comply with the full set of requirements laid down in Ukrainian legislation. The following information must be included on the packaging: in Ukrainian, and the information must correspond to the actual composition of the product. This applies, in particular, to:

• ingredients;
• nutritional value;
• allergens;
• the actual formulation of the product;
• other mandatory information for the consumer.

For consumers, this means a return to the standard rules on providing information about product composition.

What else will change in October?

Another important date is — 25 October. Ukraine will switch back to winter time in 2026. On the night of 24 to 25 October at 04:00, the clocks will need to be set back one hour earlier — at 03:00.

The bill previously passed to abolish the seasonal clock change by the end of September 2026 has not come into force, so the current arrangements remain in place.

Thus, The main financial changes from 1 October are primarily linked to the start of the heating season. As of 30 September, no widespread increases in electricity or gas tariffs, nor a separate October pension indexation, had been announced.