Polish ZUS pension reforms boost benefits for thousands of seniors

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) in Poland is set to expand several pension‑related benefits. A family pension can be granted to widows, widowers, children and other relatives when the deceased had entitlement to a pension or disability benefit, with the amount calculated as a percentage of the deceased’s pension (85 % for one beneficiary, up to 95 % for three or more).

The newly introduced "widow’s pension" – a combination of a personal pension and a family pension – already reaches almost one million seniors, with total payouts of nearly 4 billion zł and an average increase of about 370 zł per recipient. Eligibility requires the surviving spouse to be at least 60 years old (women) or 65 years (men) and to meet income limits.

ZUS will also automatically recalculate early‑retirement benefits for roughly 196,500 people who took an early pension before June 2012. The proposed law would raise monthly payments by up to 552 zł, starting with automatic adjustments from April 2027, but it does not provide retroactive compensation and will bar new court challenges.

Additionally, an honor pension of 6,938.92 zł per month is paid to every Polish citizen who reaches 100 years of age, a figure that has risen to over 4,200 centenarians by mid‑2026.