A real craze for benefits for seniors

Let us recall that from 1 January 2025, applications (on the ERWD form) for the so-called widow's pension can be submitted. However, its payment will only take place after 1 July 2025. This results from the amendment to the Act on pensions and annuities from the Social Insurance Fund and certain other acts (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1243). If the entitled persons meet the conditions and submit the application by 31 July 2025, they will receive the widow's pension from 1 July 2025. In the event of submitting the application after 31 July 2025, ZUS will start paying the benefit from the month in which the application is submitted, but not earlier than from the moment the conditions are met.

As of June 25, 2025, the Institution had received 957,260 applications for widows' pension . In turn, KRUS reported that it had received 121,351 applications for it (as of June 11).

According to the government's announcement, transfers are to be made on the dates of current benefit payments to eligible persons.

Until now, when one of the pensioners' spouses dies, the other could take over 85% of the benefit or keep theirs. The aforementioned act, however, provides for a derogation from the single payment principle. The benefit is available to persons who, after the death of their spouse, are entitled to a family pension and to a basic benefit, i.e. to a ZUS pension, an agricultural pension, a pension from the social insurance of individual farmers and members of their families, a military pension, a police pension, a pre-retirement allowance, a pre-retirement benefit, a bridging pension, a teacher's compensatory benefit, a disability pension, including a training pension, an agricultural pension due to incapacity for work, an agricultural training pension, a social insurance pension for individual farmers and members of their families, a military disability pension or a police disability pension.

Other conditions must also be met. Those eligible are those who have reached retirement age (60 for women, 65 for men), have remained in a marital community until the death of their spouse, and have acquired the right to a survivor's pension after their deceased husband (wife) no earlier than five years before reaching the general retirement age.

The legislator did not specify any minimum length of marriage that would entitle the holder to receive the new pension. The length of marriage does not affect the right to the benefit or its amount.

However, the payment of the benefit will be suspended on the day preceding the date of entering into a new marriage by the entitled person.

The Act provides for two variants of calculating the new benefit. In the first option, the entitled person can receive a family pension and ultimately 25% of the basic benefit amount. There is also a second variant. The insured person can receive a basic benefit and 25% of the family pension.

There is a catch, however. The act assumes that from July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026, 15 percent of the spouse's pension (or survivor's pension) will be due, and only from January 1, 2027, this will be the target rate, i.e. 25 percent.

There are also some limitations on the amount. The widow's pension cannot exceed three times the amount of the lowest pension (currently PLN 5,636.73). If this happens, the payment received by the insured person is reduced by the amount exceeded. The decision in this respect is made by the pension authority or the pension authority making the reduction.

During Wednesday's meeting of the Senior Policy Committee, the implementation of the law on widows' pension was discussed.

Zbigniew Wasiak from the Ministry of Family confirmed the great interest in the new type of support among those entitled. He admitted that the largest number of applications were received by ZUS, followed by KRUS, and the fewest by the pension authority responsible for uniformed services. During the discussion, several critical remarks were made regarding the new regulations.

- The hopes associated with this new entitlement were enormous. However, the act that came into force unfortunately does not meet the expectations of a large part of the elderly. It contains many conditions, the fulfillment of which may prevent the widow's pension from reaching people who really need it - said Elżbieta Ostrowska, chairwoman of the Polish Association of Pensioners, Annuitants and Disabled Persons, during the meeting.

As she pointed out, this particularly concerns the requirement of becoming a widower no earlier than five years before reaching retirement age.

– It has deprived many women (because they will be the main beneficiaries of this benefit) who lost their husbands, for example at the age of 53 or 54, of this additional support – she said.

She stressed that she was not convinced by the explanation that a younger widow is able to take care of her needs on her own, because her chances on the labour market at the age of around 50 do not decrease drastically.

This was one of the main accusations that came up during the discussion.

Elżbieta Ostrowska also drew attention to older unmarried women who are in a difficult situation.

– They can usually count only on themselves – she added.

She concluded that she hopes that the operation of the regulations and their social effects will be analyzed in 2028, in accordance with the wording of the act, and perhaps then these controversial issues will be resolved to the seniors’ satisfaction.

Legal basis: Act of 26 July 2024 amending the Act on pensions and annuities from the Social Insurance Fund and certain other acts (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1243)