Back

Widow's pensions - a year in perspective. Over a million people benefit from additional support

01.07.2026

Thousands of Polish pensioners and retirees eagerly awaited 1 July 2025, as the new benefit - the widow's pension - would start being paid out on that day. The additional benefit of several hundred zlotys was disbursed to more than a million people since it was introduced.

Widow’s pensions - a year in perspective. Over a million people benefit from additional support

A widow’s pension provides additional support for people who have lost their spouse and as a result have to grapple not only with grief but also with the cost of living, which is not significantly lower for a single person.  

‘For exactly one year now, Polish senior citizens have been receiving extra money. On average, each person gets just over 350 PLN; in April, the average benefit amounted to 373 PLN. This is real help and real support,’

- said Sebastian Gajewski, Deputy Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, during a press conference. 

To date, over a million Poles have benefited from this support. 

Widow’s pension – how does it work? 

From 1 July 2025, widows and widowers are able to claim their retirement pension and supplement it with 15% of a survivor’s pension after the death of their spouse, or claim the survivor’s pension alongside part of their own retirement pension. 

What is more, they are able to choose which benefit to receive in full, which enables them to pick the more advantageous option.   

The upper limit on benefits is three times the minimum pension (currently 5,935 PLN) 

Widow’s pension set to increase in 2027 

The upcoming year is going to bring changes to the widow’s pension. What kind of changes? From 1 January 2027, the percentage of the secondary benefit paid out will increase from 15% to 25%.  

‘What does this mean in terms of numbers? Starting on 1 January 2027, senior citizens receiving a widow’s or widower’s pension will receive around 500 or 600 PLN monthly. That means extra 600 PLN every month. It is a chance for a better life, a benefit that will make it easier for them to pay their bills, buy out the needed medicines, or simply give a gift to their grandchildren or go on a trip together. It is something that actually improves their quality of life,’

said Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister of Labour, in the Sejm gardens on Wednesday.  

Who is eligible for support? 

Receiving the widow’s pension requires meeting certain conditions: 

  • reaching retirement age; 
  • community of property until death; 
  • becoming entitled to a survivor’s pension following the death of a spouse no earlier than five years before reaching retirement age; 
  • not being married. 

The duration of the marriage has no bearing on the decision to award a pension, and payment of the benefit ceases upon remarriage.  

{"register":{"columns":[]}}