A decision was made to pay a one-time payment of PLN 7,000 to everyone
- The funeral allowance will be increased from PLN 4,000 to PLN 7,000.
- The amendment to the regulations, adopted by the Sejm and signed by the president, will come into force on January 1, 2026.
- The current benefit amount has not been indexed since 2011.
In May, Parliament passed an amendment to the law raising the funeral allowance from PLN 4,000 to PLN 7,000. The regulations were approved by President Andrzej Duda.
The current amount of the one-off benefit related to covering funeral costs has not changed since 2011.
The benefit will be subject to indexation from 1 March if inflation exceeds 5% in the previous year.
The lack of annual indexation of the benefit is intended to prevent the prices of funeral services from rising.
The costs of increasing the benefit are estimated at a maximum of PLN 2 billion per year.
The benefit is payable to:
- family member,
- employers,
- social welfare home,
- commune,
- district,
- a legal person of a church or religious association,
- to a stranger.
A family member is considered to be:
- spouse (widower, widower, and separated spouse),
- parents, stepfather, stepmother and adoptive person,
- own children, children of the other spouse and adopted children,
- children accepted for upbringing as part of a foster family,
- other children taken in for upbringing and maintenance before reaching the age of majority,
- siblings,
- grandparents,
- grandchildren,
- persons over whom legal guardianship has been established.
Funeral allowance is payable after the death of:
- a person who was granted the right to a pension or disability pension,
- a person who was granted a bridging pension,
- a person who is insured with ZUS (including those receiving maternity allowance or an allowance in the amount of maternity allowance for the period after the termination of sickness insurance),
- a person who was granted a teacher's compensation benefit,
- a person who died while receiving sickness benefit or rehabilitation benefit after the insurance period ended,
- a person who, on the date of death, was not granted a pension or disability pension, but met the conditions for obtaining it,
- a person who received a cash benefit as a blind civilian victim of warfare,
- a person who received a pre-retirement benefit or pre-retirement allowance,
- a person who received a social pension,
- a person who died as a result of an accident or occupational disease arising in special circumstances,
- a family member of the person mentioned in points 1-4, 8 and 10.
The documents required for payment of the funeral allowance must be submitted to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) within 12 months of the death of the person for whom the allowance is due. After this period, claims become time-barred.
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