ZUS has been issuing decisions for 8 days. New benefit payments in July

So far , ZUS has received over 900 thousand applications for widow's pension . From 1 July, the Social Insurance Institution will start sending decisions on granting or refusing widow's pension. ZUS has indicated that the moment of receiving the decision will not be the same as the payment of funds. It may happen that some applicants will receive the benefit before receiving the decision.

Widows’ pensions will be paid by ZUS from 1 July 2025 on the previous dates for payment of retirement and disability benefits, i.e.: 1st, 6th, 10th, 15th, 20th and 25th day of the month.

According to Infor.pl, the payments are to cost PLN 3.2 billion this year, and from 2026 even PLN 8 billion annually. Although 75% of cases are expected to be considered positively, according to ZUS, 20% require additional data, 10% do not meet the criteria.

On June 13, the ZUS algorithm began automatically generating decisions on widow's pensions. This applies to applications submitted from January 1 to June 30. These decisions are to be issued by the end of July at the latest and delivered by post.

Being a widow or widower is not enough to be entitled to a widow's pension. A widow's pension will be granted upon application after meeting certain conditions:

• you must have reached retirement age of 60 for women and 65 for men,
• remain in a marital relationship until the spouse's death,
• acquire the right to a survivor's pension after the death of a spouse no earlier than before reaching the age of 55 (women) and 60 (men).

Widows and widowers can choose whether they want to receive the entire survivor's pension and 15% of their own benefit, or vice versa. From 1 January 2027, the second benefit will be increased to 25%. Such a choice is also available to people who are entitled to a pre-retirement allowance or benefit, a bridging pension, a teacher's compensatory benefit or a training pension.

The maximum amount of the widow's pension payment cannot exceed three times the minimum pension, i.e. PLN 5,636.73 gross . This amount is valid from March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026.

If the sum of benefits in the combination exceeds three times the lowest pension, the benefit will be reduced by the amount of the excess. If the amount of the benefit received so far exceeds three times the lowest pension, the right to a widow's pension is not due to exceeding the maximum amount. This means that, for example, if someone receives a pension of PLN 5.7 thousand gross, they will not be entitled to a widow's pension.

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