Pension: emerytura¶

The Polish pension is defined-contribution in spirit: whatever pension contributions you actually paid over your lifetime is what you get back, stretched over your statistical life expectancy. No "points" and no salary averaging — just your personal account at ZUS.

How the pension is calculated¶

The formula from art. 26 of the pension act:

PENSION = ACCUMULATED CAPITAL / AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY IN MONTHS

Capital is the sum of all pension contributions you paid (składka emerytalna, 19.52% of the base). The capital is indexed every year (waloryzacja) — in recent years indexation has been high (around 9–15% a year), so old contributions don't melt away with inflation. If you worked in Poland before 1999, a kapitał początkowy is added on top.

Life expectancy is the average expected number of months of life after retirement according to the GUS table. The table is published every spring and applies from 1 April to 31 March: per the 2026/27 table it is 222.7 months at age 65 and 268.9 months at age 60.

Three takeaways follow from the formula:

1. The higher your contribution base and the longer you pay, the bigger the pension.
2. Every year worked past the retirement age increases the pension noticeably: the capital grows while the divisor (life expectancy) shrinks.
3. With the same contributions, women's pensions are markedly lower: retirement 5 years earlier (less capital) and a bigger divisor (268.9 vs 222.7).

Retirement age and applying¶

The retirement age is 60 for women and 65 for men. The pension is not granted automatically: you file an EMP application (easiest via eZUS), no earlier than 30 days before reaching the age.

You do not have to close your JDG: a retired entrepreneur may run the business with no income limits, and of the contributions only the składka zdrowotna remains due — składki społeczne become voluntary.

The pension is subject to income tax (PIT) and the 9% health contribution.

The minimum pension¶

From 1 March 2026 the minimum pension is 1,978.49 zł gross (~1,800 net); the amount is indexed every March (current figure). If your formula-based pension comes out lower, it is topped up to the minimum — but only with a sufficient insurance record (art. 87):

• 20 years for women;
• 25 years for men.

The record = okresy składkowe + nieskładkowe:

• składkowe — months for which pension contributions were paid: employment, JDG (including on Preferencyjne and Mały ZUS Plus), and periods of receiving zasiłek macierzyński — during maternity leave the state budget pays your contributions;
• nieskładkowe — for example sick leave and university studies; they count only up to 1/3 of the proven składkowe periods (art. 5);
• months on Ulga na Start yield neither record nor capital — there simply is no pension insurance during that period.

If the record is insufficient, the pension is paid strictly by the formula — even 50 złoty (the so-called "groszowe emerytury"). There is no minimum record for a pension as such: even one month of contributions entitles you to a (tiny) payout once you reach the age.

What shrinks an entrepreneur's pension¶

Every month on ZUS reliefs means less capital (2026 numbers):

Reliefs are effectively a loan from your own old age: you save on contributions now and receive less later. Not a reason to skip them — but a reason to know their price.

How to increase your future pension¶

1. Pay contributions on a higher base. An entrepreneur may declare a contribution base above the minimum — up to the yearly 30-krotność cap (282,600 zł in 2026, details). Note that the other składki społeczne are calculated from the same base, not just the pension one.
2. Private retirement accounts — more flexible and fully inheritable:
   • IKZE: the 2026 limit for JDG is elevated — 16,956 zł (11,304 zł for employees); contributions are deducted from your PIT base — the state effectively refunds part of the contribution right away; at payout after 65 only a flat 10% tax applies;
   • IKE: limit 28,260 zł; no deduction, but the payout after 60 is entirely tax-free (including no capital gains "Belka" tax);
   • current limits at ike-ikze.pl.
3. Work longer. Postponing retirement is the most powerful multiplier: more capital and a smaller divisor.

What is inherited and what is not¶

The 19.52% pension contribution is split in two: 12.22 p.p. go to your main ZUS account — that money is not inheritable. The remaining 7.3 p.p. go to the ZUS subkonto (or partly to OFE if you are a member) — subkonto and OFE funds are inheritable. IKE and IKZE are inherited in full.

How to check your pension capital¶

In eZUS, the Ubezpieczony panel offers the Informacja o stanie konta ubezpieczonego — how much capital you have accumulated and how it has been indexed. There is also a kalkulator emerytalny that forecasts your pension from your data.

If you leave Poland¶

A pension earned in Poland is not lost:

• EU/EEA countries: social security coordination — insurance periods are summed and the pension is transferred to your country of residence.
• Countries with a bilateral agreement (ZUS list): including Ukraine (in force since 2014, text) and Belarus (in force since 01.04.2022, text) — insurance periods in both countries are summed for pension entitlement, and a granted pension is transferred to the country of residence.
• Russia and other countries without an agreement: periods are not summed; the Polish pension for Polish periods is still due, but ZUS does not transfer it to such countries — it is paid to a Polish bank account (or to an authorized person).