Early retirement after age 55. What conditions must be met?

Teachers, educators or other employees employed in educational institutions can take advantage of a compensatory benefit that allows for early retirement. To do so, you must meet several conditions, which are regulated by the Act on Teachers’ Compensatory Benefits:

• over 55 years of age for women or 60 years of age for men

• contributory and non-contributory periods amount to at least 30 years

• at least 20 years of work of at least half of the compulsory number of hours in educational institutions listed in the Act (this includes, among others, public and non-public kindergartens, public and non-public schools with the rights of public schools, with the exception of non-public schools without the rights of a public school and non-public art schools without the rights of a public art school,

• terminated the employment relationship at his own request.

How much is the compensation benefit for teachers?

You can submit an application for a teacher’s compensatory benefit (ENSK) at any ZUS office, and it will be considered by the office that is competent for your place of residence. You can also apply electronically via the ZUS Electronic Services Platform.

In Poland, at the beginning of 2024, almost 13,000 people received this benefit, and its average amount was over PLN 3,500.

The right to a compensatory benefit is lost on the day before you become entitled to a pension and on the day before you reach general retirement age.

L4 paid 100%?

Good news for all working people: Minister of Labour Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk revealed that the government is considering making sick leave payable at 90 or 100 percent, instead of 80 percent as it is now.

The head of the Ministry of Labour was asked about the possibility of transferring sickness funding from the first day of illness to ZUS. – Work on this project is underway in the ministry. It is clear to us that neither the employer nor the employee should be punished for illness. Today, both are punished. The employee is punished by receiving lower wages, the employer by having to find a replacement for the absent employee and cover the costs of sick pay, i.e. 80% of the salary. What is the effect of this? Well, it is that employees come to work sick because they do not want to lose part of their wages. So they endanger their own health and the health of their colleagues – said Dziemianowicz-Bąk.