Poland expands welfare and pension benefits

In August 2026 ZUS announced further reforms slated for 2027. The monthly Olympic pension for medal‑winning athletes will rise to over 5,000 zł, with skiers Kamil Stoch, Adam Małysz and Justyna Kowalczyk among the beneficiaries. A new disability‑support allowance, calculated as a percentage of the social pension, will be available up to 4,352 zł per month and will be granted without income testing, complementing the earlier increase for disabled adults.

The honorarium for centenarians was confirmed at 6,938.92 zł per month, with 445 recipients in the Małopolska region. An energy‑cost supplement of 336.16 zł per month was introduced for former combatants, repatriates and widows, again without means testing. The 14th pension, paid each September, will be capped at 2,900 zł, with higher earners receiving reduced amounts.

A proposal under discussion by allies of former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki would replace the existing 800 plus family benefit with a “parental salary” equal to the minimum wage for the first three years of a child’s life, though it has not yet entered legislation. Senior tax‑relief (PIT‑0) continues to allow higher‑earning retirees to retain more net income by forgoing the 13th and 14th pensions.

These measures build on earlier steps in mid‑2026 that introduced a one‑off child‑support payment of up to 10,000 zł per newborn, raised disability benefits to a maximum of 4,352 zł per month for roughly 120,000 adults, and began automatic monthly honoraria for citizens aged 100 years and older, now covering over 4,200 centenarians nationwide.