As Dr. Łukasz Wacławik from the management faculty of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow says in an interview with “Gazeta Wyborcza”, this money is largely “forgotten”. He explains that although we are entitled to them, we do not know that we can apply for a transfer. ZUS itself is also not willing to inform us about this possibility.
The rest of the article below the video:
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Who can apply for funds?
This “forgotten” money is a remnant of the Open Pension Fund, i.e. the so-called 2nd pillar. They are located on subaccounts which, unlike the main account (I pillar), are subject to inheritance. Upon the death of the subaccount owner, half of the funds are automatically transferred to his or her spouse. However, you can designate the person authorized to collect the other half at any time. Importantly, it does not have to be a family member.
However, it often happens that people entitled to the money do not know that they can collect it. In fact, it is enough to send a short application to ZUS asking for their payment.
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The money accumulated on subaccounts does not lose its value. According to the findings of “Gazeta Wyborcza” they are indexed every year, also after the death of the subaccount owner. This year's indexation will be record-breaking and will amount to as much as 10.61%..
“This means that the value of all subaccounts will increase by approximately PLN 106 million (10.61% from PLN 1 trillion). And the amount of money uncollected by the beneficiary will increase by approximately PLN 70 million. In total, the amount of outstanding, uncollected money will increase to approximately PLN 720 million,” says former vice-president of ZUS Marcin Wojewódka in an interview with “GW”.
From June, funds accumulated in the main pension account, i.e. in the first pillar, will also be indexed. A total of over PLN 500 billion will appear on them. The funds will be indexed based on inflation and the written contributions (i.e. the increase in wages and the number of insured persons) from the previous year.
