Polish parental benefit programs

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) manages various parental benefit programs in Poland designed to support caregivers and balance professional life with childcare.

One program, known as ‘Mama 4+’, provides supplementary monthly benefits to individuals who raised at least four children. As of April 2026, approximately 60,000 people were receiving this support, which is intended for those whose caregiving duties prevented them from maintaining formal employment or securing a minimum pension. Following indexation, the maximum monthly benefit reached 1,978.49 PLN.

Additionally, the ‘Active Parent’ program (also called ‘babciowe’) has distributed over 10.8 billion PLN since its launch in October 2024. ZUS has processed approximately 1.2 million applications covering 1.22 million children, resulting in 8.74 million individual payments. The program offers three options for children aged 12 to 35 months:

• ‘Active in Nursery’: The most popular option, with 442,000 applications, providing up to 1,500 PLN monthly (increasing to 1,900 PLN for children with disabilities). • ‘Active at Home’: With 387,800 applications, providing 500 PLN monthly for parents staying at home. • ‘Active Parents at Work’: The least utilized option, with 371,900 applications, offering 1,500 PLN to fund nannies or family care.

In the Lublin Voivodeship alone, the ‘Active Parent’ program has distributed over 0.5 billion PLN. To assist beneficiaries, ZUS has released an electronic guide covering insurance principles, sickness benefits, and specific reliefs for entrepreneurs, such as ‘relief for start’ and ‘small ZUS+’ programs. Parents are permitted to switch between ‘Active Parent’ benefit types as their professional or childcare circumstances change.