Widow pension This is a new benefit that will be paid from July 1, 2025. From the beginning of the year to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) over 700 thousand conclusions. When do you need to submit an application? What are the limits of benefits?
A widow is a benefit to combine a survivor's pension after a deceased spouse with his own retirement or disability benefit. To apply for her, the Applicant must meet certain conditions. Women must be 60 years old and men 65 years old. In addition, the person submitting the application should have the right to two pension benefits, including a survivor's pension after the deceased spouse.
If the widow or widower applies for a widow's pension, and there is no determined right to two retirement and disability benefits (including a survivor's pension after a deceased spouse), then ZUS will refuse to grant a widow's pension.
See also: He wants a pension after valorisation. Here are the amounts
Until when do you need to apply for a widow? Since when is the payment of a widow? Key dates
To receive a width pension from July 2025, the application (Erwd form) must be submitted by July 31, 2025. Applications can be submitted both in paper and electronic form – via PUE or EZUS platforms.
It is worth remembering that the right to benefit will be granted from the month in which the application received, but not earlier than from July 1, 2025. This means that persons submitting documents after July 31, 2025 will lose the possibility of receiving a benefit for the first month (months). For example, if someone submits an application in September, then the right to a widow will acquire from September.
What is the widow pension? What are the benefit options for ZUS?
Applicants can choose one of two options:
– 15 percent own retirement benefit plus a full survivor's pension (85 percent of a pension due to the deceased spouse);
– 15 percent survivors' pensions and 100 percent own retirement.
Importantly, ZUS offers the ability to automatically choose a more favorable option – just select the appropriate field in the application. The institution will calculate and take the most profitable form of a pension.
Widow's pension: Benefits Limits
The total amount of benefits may not exceed three times the lowest pension, which since March 2025 is PLN 1878.91 gross. This means that the maximum amount of widow's pension will amount to PLN 5,636.73 gross.
If the sum of benefits exceeds this limit, then the surplus will be taken away. On the other hand, people who already receive a higher pension than this limit will not be able to benefit from a new benefit.
How to check if you should widow your disability pension?
ZUS has released a survey on its website (ZUS.PL), which allows you to check whether you meet the conditions to receive the benefit step by step. In addition, ZUS has launched a special hotline (22 560 16 00), where you can get detailed information.
An online calculator is also available for people planning to use the widow's pension, which allows you to estimate the amount of future benefit.
