ZUS rolls out 300‑zł school aid and issues scam warning

The Polish Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) has begun issuing the Dobry Start benefit – a one‑off 300 zł payment for each child attending school. Applications are accepted online from 1 July to 30 November 2026. By mid‑July over 1.4 million requests covering more than 2 million children had been filed, resulting in almost 173 million zł already transferred to family accounts. Parents who submit a complete application by the end of August will receive the payment by 30 September. The aid is available to children up to 20 years of age (or up to 24 if they have a disability) regardless of family income, but excludes children in kindergarten and university students.

ZUS also warned that third‑party firms are offering paid assistance with obtaining the supporting benefit (świadczenie wspierające), demanding fees up to several tens of thousands of zł. The institution stressed that assistance from ZUS is free and applications must be filed electronically.

In addition, ZUS reminded eligible families that the family allowance (renta rodzinna) can be extended to students after graduation, provided they submit a school‑or‑university confirmation by the end of August; otherwise the September payment will be forfeited. Entrepreneurs may also take advantage of the “contribution holiday” that waives social‑insurance contributions for one month, a scheme that has already attracted more than 3.28 million applications.

Finally, ZUS noted that the threshold for the supporting benefit has been lowered to 70 points, but recipients risk losing payments for periods before the official decision if the regional disability assessment (WZON) takes several months.