Widow's pension
A new solution has been introduced to the Polish pension system: a so-called widow's pension. This stems from the Act of 26 July 2024 amending the Act on pensions from the Social Insurance Fund and certain other acts, as published in the Journal of Laws on 16 August 2024.
The Act states that widows and widowers, in addition to their pension (or other similar benefit such as the pre-retirement benefit), will be able to receive a survivor's pension from their deceased spouse.
One of these pensions will be due in full and the other will be paid:
- from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2026 at the rate of 15%,
- from 1 January 2027 at the rate of 25%.
The maximum amount of the sum of the two pensions payable to a widower or widow will be three times the minimum pension.
To qualify for the above concurrence of benefits and collect a widow's pension, the following conditions will have to be met jointly:
- retirement age,
- marital joint ownership until the date of death of one’s spouse,
- right to a survivor's pension from the deceased spouse no earlier than five years before reaching retirement age.
The law enters into force on 1 January 2025, but the widow's pension will be paid from 1 July 2025.