The youngest person to apply for a widow's pension is 22 years old. ZUS has made a decision

• ZUS received over 1 million 79 thousand applications for widower's pension, 88% of which were submitted by women.
• The largest number of applications were received from the Silesian, Masovian and Greater Poland voivodeships.
• ZUS refused to grant a pension in 94,000 cases, mainly because the amount limit was exceeded

Widow's pension is a combined benefit , one of which is a survivor's pension.

You can receive a widow's pension as follows:

• 100 percent of one's own benefit (pension or disability pension), and
• 15% of the benefit due after the death of a spouse

or vice versa. This is referred to as overlap of benefits .

According to the data from the Social Insurance Institution, ZUS has so far received over 1 million 79 thousand applications for widower's pension .

The largest number of applications were submitted in the following voivodeships:

• Silesian,
• Masovian,
• Greater Poland,

and the least in the following voivodeships:

• Podlaskie,
• Lubusz,
• Opole.

- 88% of all applications were submitted by women , and 12% by men - reported the Social Insurance Institution.

• The largest group of applicants (over 311,000 applications by July 31, 2025) were people aged 81 to 90.
• Of all applicants, over 73.3% (over 784,000 people) are aged 71 to 90.
• A total of 187 centenarians applied for a widow's pension.
• The youngest applicant was just under 22 years old - however, he did not meet the basic criterion for obtaining the right to a widow's pension, which is reaching retirement age.
• The oldest applicant was a 106-year-old woman.

According to ZUS information:

• for women, in 69% of cases the overlap of benefits is structured as 100% of the survivor's pension and 15% of the own benefit,
• in the case of men, this coincidence occurs in 27 percent of cases.

ZUS President Zbigniew Derdziuk explained that such a structure results from the construction of overlapping benefits - men, having a higher statutory retirement age, most often have a higher amount of their own benefit .

Widow's pension. For what reasons does ZUS issue refusals?

The maximum amount of the widow's pension can be PLN 5,636.73 gross (i.e. three times the minimum pension) . In the case of female applicants, the limit on the sum of benefits to this amount was applied in 5% of cases, and in the case of men in 8%.

Between October 2024 and July 2025, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) also received over 420,000 applications for survivors' pensions or their own benefits, which would entitle them to a widow's pension. Nearly 380,000 of these applications concerned survivors' pensions.

Since the beginning of the implementation of the Act, ZUS has issued negative decisions regarding 94,000 applications.

• The most - 40 thousand - due to exceeding the maximum amount.
• In 24.4 thousand cases, the refusal was related to the acquisition of the right to a survivor’s pension after the deceased spouse more than 5 years before reaching the general retirement age.
• The reason for a total of over 34.5 thousand refusals was the lack of entitlement to a survivor's pension or to one's own benefit.
• There were also refusals related to not remaining in the marital community until the date of the spouse’s death, entering into a new marriage or not reaching the general retirement age.

Bartosz Gaca, director of the Pension and Disability Benefits Department at the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), reported that in 93% of cases, rejections were based on a single reason. In two cases, he said, there were five reasons for rejection.

Widow's pension: payments have already started

• By July 31, ZUS had launched widow's pension payments for over 755,000 people.
• The total amount of benefits paid in conjunction with the survivor’s pension amounted to PLN 2,433 million (of which the amount of benefits paid in 15% amounts to PLN 264.4 million).
• The average increase in monthly pay was approximately PLN 353.94 .

The President of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) admitted that accepting and processing widower's pension applications posed a logistical challenge for the institution. To this end, it developed, among other things, new application processing software. Furthermore, due to overtime worked by employees, ZUS spent approximately PLN 23 million on additional tasks. The President also reported that less than 5% of applications were submitted electronically .

ZUS is one of the institutions that pays combined benefits. It processes approximately 90% of all widows' pensions.

Other pension bodies that accept applications include:

• Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS),
• Prison Service Pensions Office (BESW),
• Military Pension Office (WBE),
• Pension and Pension Institution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration (ZER MSWiA).

Some eligible persons will receive benefits from two institutions:

• from ZUS,
• from another pension authority.

These clients will receive two payments in the same month, on different dates. They will receive a single decision – from the institution that will pay them 15% of the benefit. The other institution will inform them that it will continue to pay their current benefit at 100%.

What are the conditions for granting a widow's pension?

If one of the benefits is paid concurrently with a survivor's pension by another pension authority, ZUS will begin payments after the proceedings with that institution are completed. ZUS will pay such widow's pensions on the 6th of each month. In parallel with the benefits, ZUS also issues denial decisions.

In order for ZUS to pay a widow’s pension, the applicant must meet all four conditions:

• the woman should be at least 60 years old and the man at least 65 years old,
• remain in a marital relationship with your spouse until the day of your spouse’s death,
• not be currently married,
• acquire the right to a survivor's pension after the death of a spouse no earlier than on the day of reaching the age of 55 (women) and 60 (men).

ZUS will refuse to establish the overlap of benefits if the widow or widower does not meet at least one of the indicated conditions, or if the amount of at least one of the benefits is equal to or exceeds the limit amount, i.e. three times the amount of the lowest pension.

A decision by ZUS regarding a widow's pension may be appealed to court.

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