ZUS typical confirmed to Sławomir Mentzen and Ryszard Wilk on 2 September that 1 contribution could open the right to a Polish pension to a Ukrainian citizen. However, up to the minimum payment requires retirement age, 20 or 25 years of full internship and permanent residence in Poland. Payers' money and trust in the strategy are at stake.
What Members heard in ZUS
Sławomir Mentzen and Ryszard Wilk from the Confederacy addressed the Social Insurance Institution with a question about a Ukrainian citizen who obtained most of the required internship in Ukraine and was subject to insurance in Poland very briefly. As they described after the visit to ZUS on 2 September, the typical of the Department confirmed that specified a period can open the right to the Polish pension, and after gathering further conditions besides to the payment of equalization of benefits to the Polish minimum. The information was then provided by Kresy.pl.
The point of the case is confirmed in the authoritative materials of the Plant. ZUS points directlythat a individual born after 31 December 1948 is adequate to pay a pension in Poland for at least 1 day, in order to get the right to pension from the Polish strategy after reaching the general retirement age. Its basic amount comes solely from the money recorded in an individual account in ZUS.
One premium does not automatically give a minimum pension
Simplification must be cut, which obscures the debate. 1 contribution does not mean automatic payment of the full Polish minimum pension. Poland calculates the benefit of Polish contributions and Ukraine pays the part resulting from insurance periods in Ukraine. Only later can you analyse the right to equalization.
The social safety agreement between Poland and Ukraine was signed on 18 May 2012 and entered into force on 1 January 2014. It allows you to sum up periods of insurance from both countries. Official explanation of ZUS says that the sum of the Polish and Ukrainian pensions is taken into account for the additional payment. The Polish Social Insurance Fund does not pay for periods of work in Ukraine. However, it may cover the difference between the sum of both benefits and the minimum guaranteed in Poland.
The conditions are specific. A female must scope 60 years and show at least 20 years of full internship and a male 65 years and at least 25 years. The applicant must live in Poland constantly. Going abroad means losing the surcharge, although the benefit calculated from Polish contributions can inactive be paid.
From 1 March 2026. the lowest pension is PLN 1978.49 per month. If the sum of benefits from Poland and Ukraine is lower, the surcharge may cover the missing part. The difference between the symbolic Polish contribution and the later commitment of the FUS is the origin of the dispute.
The bill must be public
Wolf stated, citing the data of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy that in July alignment to minimum pensions for citizens Ukraine amounted to about PLN 5 million. At the same time, the politician pointed out that it was a tiny amount for the full FUS budget. His allegation concerns the dynamics of expenditure and the possible disparity between individual contribution and payment. This is the data presented by the associate and so requires full publication of ministerial compilations, number of recipients and methodology.
This context must be combined with influence. Ukrainian citizens paid PLN 7.4 billion to ZUS in 2025., which shows their large share of the legal labour market. However, this does not resolve the question of the construction of a minimum benefit warrant for a peculiar person. Workers' contributions build their own future allowances, and minimum subsidies are a separate work of the system. The state should show both bills, without propaganda in any direction.
Interest of Polish insured persons in first place
Pension coordination agreements are a standard solution and besides service Poles working abroad. Reciprocity, however, does not exempt the authorities from guarding the proportion. If a short insurance episode can trigger a multi-annual payment from the Polish fund, The Sejm is required to measure the cost, the tightness of the control of the place of residence and the validity of the current conditions.
The recipient's nationality is not the basis for collective accusations. The assessment is based on the provisions laid down by the Polish State. A law-abiding citizen uses the law that politicians have passed. The work for its form rests with the government and parliament.
For Poles, the stake is simple: pensions must stay as clear as possible the relation between work, contribution and provision. Any exception financed by the FUS should have a calculated cost, clear conditions and effective control. Otherwise, the state itself undermines the assurance of people who, for decades, put part of their wages into a mandatory system.
Source: Kresy.pl, Social Insurance Institution, Confederation
