Poland Agreement and foreign pension information 106-04026000

In Poland, national legislation requires the compulsory payment of social security contributions. The pension insurance covers most workers, including farmers and the self-employed. Separate legislation covers unemployment.

Contributions insure individuals against sickness, disability and death and provides for income in the form of a pension when a person reaches retirement age.

The legislation is the responsibility of the Polish Government but administration and payment of insurance pensions is the responsibility of the central pension insurance institute.

Social assistance legislation provides benefits for those with low incomes, generally managed by local and regional organisations.

The Agreement with Poland started one 1 October 2010. There are no previous versions.

For Australia:

Department of Social Services (DSS)

For Poland:

Ministerstwo Pracy i Polityki Społecznej - Ministry of Labour and Social Policy

For Australia:

Services Australia

Note: the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for double coverage provisions.

For Poland:

Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS) - Social Insurance Institution

Kasa Rolniczego Ubezpieczenia Społecznego (KRUS) - Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (farmers)

For Australia:

Centrelink International Services (CIS)

Note: the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is responsible for double coverage provisions.

For Poland:

The head office in Warsaw for each institution:

• Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS) - Social Insurance Institution
• Kasa Rolniczego Ubezpieczenia Społecznego (KRUS) - Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (farmers)

Under the Agreement with Poland, information held about customers may be exchanged between the liaison agencies to determine entitlement to payments under the Agreement and under either country's domestic legislation (Article 16.1).

Note:

• Poland can only provide Polish pension details from 1 October 2010
• Only supplements for care (Pielęgnacyjny) and orphans (Sieroty) are covered by the Agreement
• Other supplementary benefits and pensions may be combined and paid in addition to the pension by the Polish institutions but are not included in the exchange of information
• Where required, customers will need to obtain this information directly from the Polish pension funds. See Authorities, institutions and liaison agencies

For information on bulk data exchange, see International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

The following liaison form is completed by Centrelink International Services (CIS) and sent to Poland:

• AUS187PL - Australia/Poland Agreement on Social Security

For help with creating and completing the liaison form, see Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.

The following liaison form is completed by Poland and is sent to Centrelink International Services (CIS):

• FORMULARZ ŁĄCZNIKOWY - LIAISON FORM (PL/AU2)

This liaison form is used in all communication from Poland.

Purpose

• Section 1: - institution:
• Section 2: - information concerning the insured person:
• SUR claims only: provides personal details about the deceased contributor
• Section 3: - information concerning the claimant:
• SUR claims only: provides personal details about the survivor
• Section 4: - Attachments: details forms included with the liaison
• Section 5: - date of claim:
• Section 6: - Stamp: certification by the Polish competent institution

Strona/Page 1

• Section 7: - Confirmation of insurance periods in Poland: provides details of individual periods of insurance and type of insurance
• Section 8: - Entitlement to Polish pension: indicates entitlement for small periods of Polish insurance
• Section 9: - Stamp: certification by the Polish competent institution

Strona/Page 2

Information provided to Centrelink

• Section 10/11/12: - Details of Polish pension: provides decisions on claims and Polish pension details
• Section 13: - Appeals:
• Section 14: - Stamp: certification by the Polish competent institution

Australian disability pensions (DSP) is not covered by the Agreement. However, the Agreement allows the exchange of information including medical information and to undertake medical examinations on request.

The liaison agency will contact Services Australia and request this be done. There is no provision for reimbursement of costs to either country.

The customer must contact Services Australia if they receive a direct request from the liaison agency to undertake a medical examination. Advise them to undertake Services Australia’s foreign pension medical assessment process. Where the customer has already undertaken a medical examination based on a direct request from the Agreement partner without consulting Services Australia, the customer should contact the liaison agency to discuss any possible reimbursement options.

If a customer is claiming reimbursement of costs based on undertaking a medical examination requested by Services Australia for foreign pension purpose, consider all evidence provided. For example, if incorrect advice was provided to the customer by Services Australia that caused them to seek an independent medical examination which caused the customer to be out of pocket.

See Customer compensation and Act of Grace.

Samples of forms, foreign documents and translations are available through the Residence and International program homepage.

The Agreement with Poland includes double coverage provisions. Certificates of coverage are used to confirm exceptions.

Any enquiries about double coverage or certificates of coverage should be directed to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website.

Any queries about taxation of pensions or the requirement to lodge a tax return should be directed to:

• in the other country - the tax authority in the other country
• in Australia - the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website

For general information on taxation, including issuing Australian payment summaries.

Tax treaty

Australia has a double tax agreement with Poland, which avoids the need for the customer to pay tax in both countries.

A person who is 'resident' in one country (according to the definition in the tax agreement) only pays tax on pensions in that country.

Tax deductions from income by one country may be allowed as a credit against tax payable in the other country.

Tax deduction

Pensioners in Poland usually have a tax deduction (podatek) taken out of their Polish pension.

The gross rate of Polish pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

Polish tax year

Poland uses the calendar year (1 January - 31 December) as the tax year.

Australia does not have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Poland.

See general information on health insurance and Medicare coverage.

Any queries about:

• health insurance coverage in the other country – tell the customer to contact the health insurance authority in the other country
• Medicare coverage - direct them to Medicare

Pensioners in Poland usually have a health insurance deduction (zdrowotne) taken out of their Polish pension.

The gross rate of Polish pension, before any deduction, is maintained.

The official language of Poland is Polish.

See Polish naming conventions and pronunciation.

Telephone country code is +48.

Street/Rural address

Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]

Ul. Bosmanska 17 [Thoroughfare + street name + number]

28-567 WARSZAWA [Postcode + locality]

POLAND

Post Office Box address

Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]

Skrytka pocztowa 115 [P.O. box + number]

48–300 NYSA [Postcode + locality]

POLAND

Rural Address with no street name

Title FirstName Surname [Addressee]

Msciejewo 11 [Village + house number]

14-500 MACIEJEWO [Postcode + village]

POLAND

Note:

• The postal code is always five digits separated with a hyphen, e.g. 60-700
• Common thoroughfares are:
• Ulica (Ul) – Street
• Plac (Pl) – Square
• Aleja (Al) - Avenue
• The Polish word for Post Office box is skrytka pocztowa, abbreviated to skr. poczt. 'POBox' and 'PO' are also used
• The house number may be followed by ‘m’ (mieszkanie) or ‘/’ to indicate a flat/unit number:
• e.g. 17 Bosmanska street flat/unit 3 is written:
  Ul. Bosmanska 17/3, or
  Ul. Bosmanska 17 m. 3

Poland does not legally recognise same-sex marriage or civil unions.

For Australia, the Agreement with Poland (Article 2.1) covers:

• Age Pension

Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements use the same methods and processes as domestic claims.

Forms to claim an Australian payment in Poland can be obtained by:

• downloading the form from the Services Australia website. See Resources
• contacting Centrelink International Services (CIS)
• contacting the Polish authorities

Australian forms needed

The customer is to complete and provide the following:

All claims:

• AUS140PL - Australian Pension Claim – Social Security Agreement between Australia and Poland
• Mod(iA)PL - Income and Assets - Poland

Forms can be lodged at any Polish social security office.

Under Section 6 of the Administrative Arrangements, the Polish liaison agency will:

• accept all forms/documents and date stamp the AUS140 form
• verify the customer's identity and personal details, and
• send the form(s) to Services Australia with a liaison form specifying periods of coverage in Poland and information regarding Polish pensions

See Exchange of information and liaison forms.

If a person is not an Australian resident and in Australia on the date the claim is made, they may use the Agreement to meet the residence rules for claims if, on that date, they are:

• an Australian resident or a resident of Poland (Article 10(1)), and
• physically present in Australia or Poland (Article 10(2))

Claims under the Polish Agreement

Claims for Australian payment under the Polish Agreement may not be lodged in another Australian Agreement country.

See the Claim lodgement matrix.

Accepting other Agreement claims

Poland will not accept claims for Australian benefits under other Australian social security agreements.

Claim lodgement consideration

There are no specific considerations under the Polish Agreement.

The normal rules for working out the date a claim is 'made' and the start day apply to a claim under the Agreement with Poland. However, the Agreement also allows:

• the date of lodgement of a claim for an Australian payment in Poland to be used as the date of lodgement in Australia (Article 19.2), and
• the date of lodgement of a claim for Polish Old Age Pension to be used as the date of lodgement of a claim for Australian Age Pension (Article 16.3) (FP claim = AU claim) if the:
• person declares periods of residence in Australia on the Polish claim, and
• the Australian claim is received in Australia within 6 months of the date of lodgement of the Polish claim

For coding help, see

• Claims for Australian payments under International Agreements, and
• Start Day

The Agreement allows:

• totalisation of periods of qualifying Australian residence and periods of coverage in Poland to meet any minimum periods to qualify for an Australian pension, for example, 10 years for Age Pension (Article 11.1)
• the total of any non-continuous Polish insurance periods to be considered to be continuous to meet any continuous residence requirement to qualify for an Australian pension (Article 11.2)

Note:

• Overlapping Australian residence and Polish periods of coverage are only counted once (Article 11.3)
• Adjoining periods of Australian qualifying residence and periods of coverage in Poland, with a break of up to 3 months in between, can also be considered to be continuous (Policy)

See Resources in International Social Security Agreements for examples of totalisation.

Polish period of coverage:

• means a period of insurance, for example, a period during which contributions were paid, or any equivalent period, as defined in the Polish legislation
• where equivalent periods may include deemed periods, such as for child rearing or military service
• where both actual and deemed periods may be used when totalising for Australian qualification purposes, as long as they are certified and don’t overlap
• must be certified by the Polish Competent Institution

To be able to use the totalisation provisions, a person who is not an Australian resident at the date of lodgement must have at least 12 months Australian Working Life Residence (WLR) in Australia of which 6 months must be continuous (Article 11.4(1)).

Note: unlike WLR for rate, this period cannot be rounded.

No minimum WLR is required if the person is an Australian resident at the date of lodgement (Article 11.4(2)).

Customers residing in Poland do not meet the ongoing residence requirement for DSP.

For customers outside Australia, the Agreement with Poland (Article 12.1) refers to the overall rate calculation contained in section 12(1) of the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 but specifically excludes additional child amounts.

This means customers paid under the Agreement have:

• a proportional rate according to their Australian Working Life Residence (WLR)
• the Rate Limiter/Limited Rate applied

The Polish Agreement does not include the proportionalisation of any Polish pension in the income test (Randisi concession).

Note: in some circumstances their partner's WLR may be used. See Working Life Residence (WLR).

Non-proportional rate extension

Customers paid under the Agreement and temporarily outside Australia, cannot have their non-proportional portability rate extended if they are unable to return to Australia.

Returns to Australia

The proportional rate continues to apply for the first 26 weeks of a temporary return to Australia (Article 12.3).

• For returns to Australia before 9 June 2018, manually code the Temporary Return to Aust Ind on the Residence Savings (RSS) screen.

Customers in Australia under the Agreement are generally paid a direct deduction rate (Article 12.4).

The Agreement does not include a comparison rate in Australia.

Departures from Australia

The inside Australia rate continues to be paid for the first 26 weeks of a temporary departure from Australia (Article 12.5).

Portability under the Agreement

Under the Agreement, provided the customer remains qualified, Australian Age Pension is payable indefinitely in any country provided the person remains a resident of Australia or Poland (Article 5.1).

Third country portability under the Agreement

There is no portability for a permanent departure to a third country for a customer paid under the Agreement.

If necessary, a customer who receives an autonomous payment that stops being payable due to portability reasons can transfer to the Agreement to continue payment if the:

• payment is covered by the Agreement, and
• customer is able to meet the lodgement provisions of the Agreement

If transferred to the Agreement, all Agreement rules apply to the customer, including portability and rate of payment.

See Transfers to international social security agreements.

A person who has sufficient Australian qualifying residence (or an exemption) can transfer from the Agreement to autonomous only if they are an Australian resident and in Australia.

Former resident provisions may affect customers who transfer to autonomous if they leave Australia again within 2 years of becoming an Australian resident.

Australian payments may be issued to customers outside of Australia. If the customer intends to be outside of Australia:

• long-term (12 months or longer), their Australian payment may be issued to an overseas bank account. See Overseas Bank Account Details (OBAD) for payment requirements by country
• for less than 12 months, payment will generally continue to their normal Australian bank account every 2 weeks

See Delivery of payments to Centrelink customers outside Australia.

For Poland, the Agreement covers the pension insurance legislation about certain payments.

Main payments

• Emerytura - Old Age Pension (AGE)
• Renta z tytułu niezdolności do pracy - Disability Pension (INV), including:
• Tytułu wypadku (in respect of a work accident)
• Tytułu choroby zawodowej (in respect of an occupational disease)
• Renta rodzinną - Survivors Pension (SUR)
• Wdowa/Wdowiec - Widow/er
• Dzieci - Children
• Rodzice - Parents
• Zasiłek pogrzebowy - Funeral grant

Pensions may have the following components:

• Socjalna – Social component
• Nieskdowych – non-contributory component
• Podwyższeniu – Increase to the minimum pension (Najniższe)
• Dopłata – extra payment to the minimum (Najniższe)

Supplementary payments:

• Pielęgnacyjny - Care/Attendance allowance - also known as Nursing allowance
• Sieroty - Orphan allowance

Note:

• Pensions are paid by both Polish institutions, ZUS and KRUS
• Official pension statements may include other non-agreement pensions, benefits (świadczenie) and allowances (dodatek) paid in addition to the main pension by the Polish institutions but are not covered by the Agreement
• some Polish survivor pensions may be war payments

The following known payments are paid by the Polish authorities but are not covered under the Agreement:

• Kolejnym dodatkowym rocznym świadczeniu Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1407 (14th ongoing)
• Kolejne Dodatkowe roczne świadczenie Dz.U. z 2021 poz. 432 (14th payment)
• Dodatkowe roczne świadczenie Dz. U. z 2020 poz. 321 (13th payment)
• Other supplementary payments:
• Kombatancki/weterana (Soldiers/veterans)
• Deportowanych (Deportees)
• Niewidomymi (Blind)
• Ryczałt energetyczny (Energy (heating))
• Polish war payments (OZIW, WZIW, WZR and OZR)

For help with:

• Assessment of Polish pensions, see Assessment
• Coding of Polish pensions, see Eligibility and Coding

The requirement to claim Polish pensions applies to Polish AGE and INV.

• Customers may voluntarily claim SUR (including Polish Funeral grant) for other family members using the SUR claim pack.

See Foreign pension claims.

Eligibility and coding of foreign pensions tab contains detailed information on Polish payments that are subject to CFP legislation.

Claim packs are available for AGE, INV and SUR.

Claim packs are issued through the Foreign Pension System (FPS). See Assisting customers to claim a foreign pension.

Specific requirements for Polish claims

The customer is to complete and provide the following:

All claims:

• Polish reference numbers:
• Polish pension number or case number (Numer sprawy)
• Personal ID Number (PESEL)
• Passport number and/or
• Polish Tax identification number (NIP)

Note: claims lodged without some Polish reference number can be rejected.

• Bank statement confirming account number
• Evidence of insurance (contributions)
• Copies of documents as evidence of insurance must be of the whole document (not just the first page). Each page must be individually certified as true copies of the original

AGE/INV only:

• WNIOSEK O POLSKĄ EMERYTURĘ / RENTĘ Z TYTUŁU NIEZDOLNOŚCI DO PRACY - REQUEST FOR POLISH OLD AGE / DISABILITY PENSION (PL-AU3)

SUR only:

• WNIOSEK O POLSKĄ RENTĘ RODZINNĄ - REQUEST FOR POLISH SURVIVORS' PENSION (PL-AU4)
• death certificate
• child school enrolment (if necessary)

Requests for additional information

If information provided with the claim for Polish pension is incomplete, Poland will send requests for information in Polish direct to customers.

Receipt of foreign pension claim by Services Australia

Under the Administrative Arrangements, Polish forms can be lodged in Australia at any service centre. See Processing a foreign pension claim.

• All foreign pension claims and supporting documents must be scanned, and
• The original foreign claim form and copies of supporting documentation must be sent in paper form to Centrelink International Services (CIS). See Processing a foreign pension claim

Centrelink International Services (CIS) only:

CIS will complete the following or arrange for the following to be completed as necessary and attach the documents to the foreign pension claim to send to the agreement country. See Agreement Liaison Detail (ALD) for method of transmission.

CIS staff are required to sign the relevant section of the claim form.

All supporting documents sent with the claim must be stamped on both sides with a ‘CIS Certified Copy of Original’ stamp.

• The date placed on the stamp needs to be the same date as the Service Centre date stamp (if there is one) or the date the claim was first scanned at Services Australia
• Sign the CIS stamp and date with the same date of the stamp

All claims:

• AUS187PL - Australia/Poland Agreement on Social Security

For help with creating and completing the liaison form, see: Agreement liaisons, NZ CICs and exchange of information.

INV only:

• E213 - Detailed Medical Report. See Foreign pension medical assessments
• Copy of existing Australian medical information

Enquiries about claims for Polish payments in Poland or a third country should be directed to the Polish social security authorities.

Polish payments may be paid by direct deposit in Australia.

Any queries about the non-payment of Polish pension should be directed to the Polish pension authorities.

Agreement pensions

Agreement pensions are paid as 12 regular payments every year.

Coded as Freq: 'MTH'.

Note: official pension statements may include other non-agreement pensions and allowances. See Assessment.

Other benefits or private pensions are normally paid monthly or annually.

Polish pensions must be recorded in the source currency - Polish Zloty (PLN). Official statements provide the foreign currency amounts.

Amounts recorded in source currency on the Foreign Pensions Details (FPD) screen must not be changed to the Australian dollar amount.

Note: payments into Australian are made in Australian dollars.

Polish payments are generally increased for Consumer Price Index (CPI or cost of living) changes annually in March.

For information on bulk data exchanges and auto adjusted CPI increases, see International Data Exchange Program and auto-indexation of foreign pensions.

• directly deducted (Article 12.4) and ignored in the income test (Article 8(8)(zc) Social Security Act 1991) for customers paid under the Polish Agreement who are in Australia
• ordinary income (not proportionalised) for customers paid:
• under the Polish agreement who are outside Australia
• autonomously inside or outside Australia
• under an agreement other than Poland or New Zealand who are inside or outside Australia

See Rate Calculation for when a direct deduction or proportional rate is applied.

Note: each member of a couple is deemed to receive half of the total amount received by the couple (Article 12.6).

• Socjalna (social component)
• Nieskładowych (non-contributory component)
• Sieroty - Orphan allowance
• Pielęgnacyjny - Care/Attendance allowance. May be paid to a person who is:
• 75 years or older, and
• require assistance to live independently

• Second additional annual cash benefit (kolejnym dodatkowym rocznym świadczeniu (Dz.U. 2023 poz. 1407)) also known as the 14th ongoing

This payment is also known as another additional annual cash benefit and is paid every year from 2023 and is assessable income.

The 14th ongoing is a payment to Polish pensioners if their Polish pension is less than 2900 Zloty (PLN) per month. If the Polish pension exceeds 2900 Zloty (PLN) per month, the payment is reduced by how much the pension exceeds 2900 Zloty (PLN). If their Polish pension is less than 50PLN per month the benefit is not granted.

Gross rate:

2023 - 2650.00 PLN

• Additional Annual Cash Benefit (Dodatkowe roczne świadczenie (Dz. U. z 2020 poz. 321)) also known as the 13th - from May 2020

In May 2020, this payment became a regular annual payment to the value of the minimum (najniższe) rate of Polish pension. It is assessable as ordinary income from May 2020 onwards.

From 2021 it is generally paid in April/May.

Gross rates:

2019 - 1100.00 PLN

2020 - 1200.00 PLN

2021 - 1250.88 PLN

2022 - 1338.44 PLN

2023 - 1588.44 PLN

Other supplementary payments

Various benefits (świadczenie) and allowances (dodatek) may be paid in addition to the main pension by the Polish institutions:

• Kombatancki/ weterana (Soldiers/veterans)
• Deportowanych (Deportees)
• Niewimymi (Blind)
• Ryczałt energetyczny (Energy (heating))

These payments are exempt income for customers paid under the Agreement or autonomously:

• Kolejne w 2021 r. Dodatkowe roczne świadczenie - 14th payment

In October 2021, the Next Additional Annual Cash Benefit (Kolejne w 2021 r. dodatkowe roczne świadczenie (Dz.U. z 2021 poz. 432)), also known as the 14th payment.

This payment was paid to Polish pensioners where their Polish pension is less than 2900 Polish Zloty (PLN) per month.

If the Polish pension exceeds 2900 (PLN per month, the payment is reduced by the amount the pension exceeds 2900 PLN.

It is usually paid in August/September.

Gross rates paid:

2021 - 1250.88 PLN

2022 - 1338.44 PLN

This payment is exempt under section 8(8)(c) SSA 1991. This payment should be ignored in Polish pension statements provided by customers or the Polish liaison agency (ZUS).

• Dodatkowe roczne świadczenie - 13th payment

In May 2019, the Polish Government introduced an Additional Annual Cash Benefit (Dodatkowe roczne świadczenie (Dz. U. z 2020 poz. 321)) also known as the 13th payment.

The amount of the one-off exempt payment was 1100 Polish Zloty (PLN).

• Podwyższeniu lub dopłata do minimalne emerytury - Increase to the minimum or extra payment tor minimum pension

Increase (podwyższeniu) or extra payment (dopłata) for minimum pension (minimalne emerytury) is exempt for residents of Poland and for the first 26 weeks of a temporary return to Australia (Article 12.2). Otherwise, payment is assessed the same as the main agreement payment.

• Polish war payments

Various Polish war payments may be combined and paid in addition to the main pension by the Polish institutions:

• Renta inwalidy obozowego (osadzonego w obozie zagłady) (OZIW)
• Renta inwalidy wojennego i wojskowego (WZIW)
• Renta rodzinna po inwalidzie wojennym (WZR)
• Renta rodzinna po inwalidzie obozowym (OZR)

Note: OZIW is a restitution payment for National Socialist (Nazi) persecution.

OZIW is exempt from the income test in all circumstances (s8(8)(n) Social Security Act 1991). Other payments are assessed as ordinary income in all circumstances.

• Zasiłek pogrzebowy - Funeral grant

Polish Funeral Grant (Zasiłek pogrzebowy) may be exempt from the income test if payable as a reimbursement to the person who incurred expenses associated with the bereavement.

Otherwise, the amount is assessable for 12 months from date of receipt (s1073 Social Security Act 1991). See Treatment of Lump Sums.

The Agreement does not include embargo provisions.

Arrears debts for customers and their partners are raised under s1228A Social Security Act 1991 and recovered via normal methods under the Act. See Comparable Foreign Payment (CFP) lump sum arrears debts.

Where an arrears period is not provided, the arrears period end date may be deemed to be the end of the month prior to the date on the notice.

A contravention debt may also occur if the customer does not advise of the grant of their Polish payment within their notification period. See Foreign pension coding.

Life certificates (POŚWIADCZENIE ŻYCIA) are issued to Polish pensioners annually.

Polish Life Certificates can be certified by an officer of Services Australia.

For information on helping customers with life certificates, see Assisting customers to maintain an existing foreign pension.

Customers in Australia are sent notices at grant and receive an annual tax statement in February each year and a further statement in April each year post-indexation.

Official pension statements may include other non-agreement pensions and allowances.

Annual tax statements do not indicate the CPI increased rate and cannot be used to update records.