Due to this error, applications for support benefits will not be processed and you may lose money
Supportive benefits are a new type of assistance for people with disabilities. It has been awarded since the beginning of this year, but you have to be very careful because you can easily lose money. We explain how to submit an application correctly.
From January 1, 2024, it is possible to submit applications for support benefits. However, the Social Insurance Institution issued a statement that the applications submitted so far are incomplete. ZUS has already received over a hundred incorrectly submitted applications. What was wrong with them?
Supporting Benefit: An error that will result in applications not being processed
What was the error in the submitted applications to the Social Insurance Institution for the support benefit? In an interview with PAP, ZUS spokesman Paweł Żebrowski noted that such applications are incomplete because the provincial disability assessment teams have not yet considered applications for a decision determining the level of support need.
In practice, it’s about maintaining the right order. “We would like to remind you that ZUS is in the final stage of applying for the benefit. First, you must submit an application to the provincial disability assessment team (WZON) for a decision determining the level of support need. In this decision, WZON will determine the level of support need on a scale from 0 to 100 points. Only when this decision of the WZON becomes final should an application be submitted to ZUS for a support benefit,” explained the spokesman for the Social Insurance Institution.
What applications for support benefits will not be considered by ZUS?
Therefore, people whose applications are not submitted in the correct order will not receive the support benefit. If a person submits an application to ZUS for a support benefit, it will remain unconsidered unless the WZON has previously issued a decision determining the level of support need. “That is why it is so important to maintain the correct order in submitting applications. This means first an application to the Provincial Disability Assessment Team (WZON) to issue a decision in which the number of points determining the level of support need will be established, and then an application to ZUS for granting a support benefit based on the WZON decision,” added the ZUS spokesman.
Who will receive support benefits?
The support benefit will be awarded to people to whom WZON first awards the qualifying number of points. In turn, the application must be submitted to the Social Insurance Institution within three months from the issuance of the final WZON decision. “If a disabled person submits an application to us within these 3 months, we will grant a support benefit with compensation from the date from which WZON awarded the qualifying points,” explained the ZUS spokesman.
Who can apply for support benefits?
People with disabilities who:
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are over 18 years old,
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are citizens of Poland or the European Union (EU) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and if not – they reside legally in Poland and have access to the labor market,
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live in Poland,
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received a WZON decision in which the level of support need was set at the eligible point level.