Seniors are fighting for PLN 2,000. PLN more. The government deprives them of compensation
Equality and social justice are the foundations of the functioning of the state. The constitution requires the authorities to treat Poles equally, but in this case some seniors rather have to go to court for their rights.
Nearly 200 thousand people in Poland have a systemically lower pension. The government wants to change this situation, but only partially.
The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy is working on a draft bill that will change the rules for calculating pensions for people who took advantage of early retirement pensions years ago. This is a mechanism that, since 2013, has reduced the general pension by previously paid money. What about compensation for these years? Nothing.
Early retirement turned out to be a trap for thousands of seniors
The problem mainly concerns people who took early retirement before June 6, 2012 and did not have the right to a general pension established on January 1, 2013. On June 6, the rules for transferring from early retirement to general pension were changed, and on January 1, the mechanism of reducing the basis for calculating retirement benefits by previously paid amounts came into force.
The longer someone has received their previous benefit, the lower their general pension is now. This means reductions in ZUS benefits reaching even more than PLN 1,000 per month, and indirectly also lower survivor benefits, which were calculated on the basis of reduced retirement benefits. It concerns mainly women born in 1949-1959 and men born in 1949-1952 and 1954.
After the change in regulations, the pension will be automatically recalculated, but without compensation for the years in which the benefit was lower. Seniors who decide to file a case in court usually also receive compensation for a period of up to three years back.
Pitfalls of converting pensions according to the government project
The new regulations are to enter into force on June 1, 2026. From this moment, ZUS will start calculating benefits and will have up to 6 months to issue a decision.
The monthly increase in ZUS benefits may amount to several hundred or more than PLN 2,000. PLN, but the lack of compensation means a loss of even several dozen thousand zlotys. The scale of the loss depends on the difference between the current pension and the converted pension. In practice, if after conversion the benefit would increase by PLN 500-1,500 per month, the lack of compensation in a maximum of three years means a loss of approximately PLN 18,000. PLN to even over 50 thousand. zloty. As a matter of fact, the senior citizen no longer loses the money he or she receives from ZUS, but he or she will not recover what he or she could have won in court.
The project provides that in some cases the pension will be calculated not on the day of submitting the application, but on the moment of reaching retirement age. This may limit the amount of the benefit for people who have postponed retirement, hoping for an increase. The project also includes a provision limiting the possibility of initiating new proceedings after the act enters into force, so injured seniors should reconsider their decision.
