Survivor’s pensions

The survivors’ pension is granted to eligible family members of a person who, at the time of death, was entitled to the old-age pension or met the requirements to receive it, held the established entitlement to the bridging pension, or held the established entitlement to the disability pension or met the requirements for its award. When the right to the survivors’ pension is established by ZUS, it is assumed that the deceased person was completely
incapable of work.

The survivors’ pension is also awarded to eligible family members of a person who – on the day of death – was a recipient of the pre-retirement benefit, the pre-retirement allowance or teachers’ compensatory allowance. In such case ZUS assumes that the person deceased has satisfied the conditions to be awarded the pension in respect of total incapacity for work. The survivors’ pension is not granted if the deceased was a recipient of the periodic funded pension.

The following persons have the right to the survivors’ pension:

• own children, children of the spouse, adopted children:
  • until they reach 16 years of age,
  • until completion of school education, if they are older than 16, but not longer than until they reach the age of 25 (if a child reaches the age of 25 in the last year of study at a tertiary level school, the right to the survivors’ pension is extended until the end of that year of study),
  • irrespective of age, if they have become completely incapable of work before reaching the age of 16 or, if they continue their school education, before the age of 25;
• grandchildren, siblings and other children, if they meet the same conditions as own children and if they, in addition:
  • have been placed in foster care before reaching the age of majority at least one year before the death of the insured person or the pensioner, unless the death was the result of an accident (except for children living with a foster family or in a family foster home),
  • are not entitled to a pension after the death of their parents, and when the parents are alive, they cannot provide for their maintenance, or the insured/pensioner or his or her spouse was the guardian of the children appointed by the court,
• spouse (widow(er) of an insured person, of a pensioner) if he or she meets one of the following conditions:
  • at the time of the spouse’s death was over 50 or was incapable of work,
  • brings up at least one of the children, grandchildren or siblings who is entitled to a survivors’ pension after the spouse’s death and is under 16 or – if studying – under 18 years of age,
  • is caring for a child who is completely incapable of work and independent existence or completely incapable of work and entitled to a survivors’ pension,
  • is over 50 years old or has become incapable of work within 5 years after the death of his or her spouse or after he or she had ceased to raise eligible children;
• divorced spouse, or a widow(er) who was not in a statutory marital community with the spouse at the time of his or her death, if they meet the conditions for a widow(er) and, in addition, were entitled to maintenance allowance from the spouse on the date of his or her death as determined by a court; and a former wife or separated wife if she proves that immediately before the death of the deceased she had been receiving maintenance allowance based on an agreement between her and the deceased;
• spouse (a widow(er)) who does not meet the conditions but does not have the necessary sources of maintenance; the right to the pension may be granted:
  • for a maximum of one year after the death of the spouse,
  • for a maximum of 2 years after the death of the spouse if the widow(er) is attending a training course after which he or she is to be qualified for gainful employment;
• parent of the deceased (mother, father, stepfather, stepmother, adoptive person) who fulfils the conditions for a widow and widower if the deceased contributed to their maintenance immediately before death.

The survivors’ pension is granted to all eligible family members in one total amount. ZUS divides it equally between the eligible persons:

• for one eligible person – 85% of the benefit that the deceased would be entitled to,
• for two entitled persons – 90% of the benefit that would be payable to the person deceased,
• for more than two entitled persons – 95% of the benefit that would be payable to the person deceased.

The recipient of the survivors’ pension may be granted a supplementary allowance for a double orphan.

At the end of 2023, survivors’ pensions were usually collected by women (89% of the total number of beneficiaries).

In 2023 survivors’ pensions were received by 1,184.4 thousand persons, and the average monthly amount of the pension was PLN 2,949.33.