Thousands of seniors have been denied widows' benefits. ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) has provided the most common reasons for denial.

The widow's pension is enjoying enormous popularity, as evidenced by figures released by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). Over a million applications have been submitted, and nearly 2.5 billion złoty has already been distributed to eligible beneficiaries. Some seniors applying for this benefit have been denied.

The widow's or widower 's pension is a new solution, providing an additional source of income for older people. It has been paid since July 1st, and eligible individuals receive 100% of their own pension or disability benefit and 15% of the benefit they are entitled to after the death of their spouse (or vice versa). According to data from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), beneficiaries receive an average increase of PLN 350. However, there are strict conditions for receiving these funds.

There are four criteria that must be met. You are eligible for a widow's or widower's pension if:

• retirement age is reached (60 years for women, 65 years for men)
• until the death of the wife/husband, one remained with her/him in a marital relationship
• you are not currently in another marriage
• the right to a survivor's pension after the death of a partner was acquired no earlier than at the age of 55 (women) or 60 (men).

SEE: ZUS will not pay the fourteenth pension to some seniors. There are several reasons.

In addition to these requirements, an income threshold of three times the minimum pension has also been established (currently PLN 5,636.73 gross).

Due to these restrictions, many seniors received refusals. The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) reported that 93,900 refusals were issued. The most common reasons for such refusals were:

• receiving benefits higher than the established limit
• obtaining the right to a survivor's pension after a deceased spouse earlier than five years before reaching retirement age
• no entitlement to own benefits

SEE: Changes to pensions and retirement benefits are coming. Some will lose out.

If someone disagrees with an unfavorable decision, they can appeal to the court. It's worth ensuring that the information provided to officials is accurate and that there's no need to supplement documentation or provide clarification.

This problem, however, doesn't affect the majority of those seeking support. Funds flowed to over 755,000 people in July. They received a total of PLN 264.4 million in additional benefits. The total amount paid out last month reached PLN 2.433 billion .

ZUS also announced the dates on which widower's pension payments will be deposited into eligible individuals' accounts starting in August. These are: the 1st, 6th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th of the month . Importantly, seniors who submitted applications by July 31st and were approved will also receive their entitlement for that month.

SEE: Good news for seniors. People over 65 can count on benefits.

It is important to remember that although the Social Insurance Institution handles the vast majority of the program, other institutions also handle it.

This includes the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) and the Military Pension Office (Wojskowe Biuro Emerytalne). Each of these bodies will be responsible for paying the portion of the benefit they grant (e.g., the entire ZUS pension and 15% of the survivor's pension from WEB).