The higher funeral allowance will enter into force on January 1, 2026, and instead of indexation of the allowance, the amount will be verified – according to the latest draft law on this matter. The previous project assumed an increase in the benefit within 14 days of the entry into force of the new regulations and an annual indexation.
The Ministry of Finance estimates the costs of increasing the benefit for the public finance sector at PLN 1.5-1.6 billion annually compared to PLN 1.5-2.7 billion previously.
Higher amount of funeral allowance from January 1, 2026
“The project provides for an increase in the amount of the funeral allowance from January 1, 2026 from PLN 4,000 to PLN 7,000,” it was written in the justification to the project.
As explained, “instead of the originally proposed annual indexation from March 1 with the average annual price index of total consumer goods and services in the previous calendar year, the project currently provides for annual verification of the amount of the funeral allowance by the Institute of Labor and Social Affairs.”
“The increase in the funeral allowance as a result of verification will be left to the discretion of the Council of Ministers, which will be able to issue an appropriate regulation on this matter,” we read.
Verification instead of valorization
The Ministry of Labor explains that verification is a legal construction present, among others, in the Act on Social Assistance and the Act on Family Benefits. Unlike valorization it does not provide for an automatic, statutory increase in the amount of a specific benefit after a specified period of time.
Its meaning comes down to equipping the body competent to decide on the increase of the benefit due to the possible loss of its purchasing power with a professional diagnosis necessary to assess the advisability and feasibility of making such a decision.
The project proposes that the Institute of Labor and Social Affairs be obliged to develop a basket of funeral services (basic scope) and monitor the increase in real prices on an annual basis.
The amount of the funeral allowance is currently PLN 4,000. The amount of this benefit has not changed for 13 years, even though funeral costs have increased significantly over that time. The increase in the funeral allowance was announced by the Civic Coalition in its 100 specifics.
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