People who submitted an application for early retirement before June 6, 2012, and obtained the right to benefit after 2012, will be able to recalculate the amount of the pension again – according to the assumptions of the project of the family ministry, which was included in the list of government's work. The changes can cover about 200,000 Poles.
It is about the assumptions of the bill of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy (MRPiPS) on determining pensions from the Social Insurance Fund for persons who, until June 6, 2012, retired on the principles of persons born before January 1, 1949.
In government information, it was stated that the planned adoption of the project by the Council of Ministers was the third quarter of 2025. It was proposed that the Act entered into force on June 1, 2026.
Unconstitutional mechanism
The information included in the list of government works reminded that the 1998 retirement insurance reform introduced the regulation addressed to insured those born in 1949-1968. The Act provided that people from these years under special conditions could retire before – a woman after reaching 55 years, and a man – 60 years.
On the other hand, 2012, a provision was introduced to the Act on pensions, assuming that if the insured person received an early retirement, the basis for calculating the ordinary pension is reduced by the sum of the benefits already collected. This solution entered into force on January 1, 2013 and was appealed to the Constitutional Tribunal.
In March 2019, the Tribunal found this mechanism unconstitutional. The judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal, however, concerned women born in 1953, who before 1 January 2013 retired. These women were the last year of people who could acquire the right to early retirement, they were also the first year of people who did not reach the universal retirement age before January 1, 2013.
On July 10, 2020, the amendment to the Act entered into force, which enabled the conversion by ZUS Universal pensions without reducing the basis of their calculation by the sum of the amounts collected earlier pensions. The entitled to this was insured from 1953.
On Monday information, it was noted that since the announcement of the Constitutional Tribunal judgment, postulates regarding all insured people, regardless of the year of birth, who went to early pensions before January 1, 2013.
Project assumptions
The aim of the bill is therefore to regulate the issue regarding the application of the pension act in relation to persons born in years other than in 1953.
The information states that the project assumes determining the amount of a universal pension, without reducing the basis for calculating the pension by the sum of the amounts collected earlier pensions, provided that the early pension application was submitted before June 6, 2012, and the right to a universal pension was determined by ZUS decision after 2012.
The proposed solution therefore applies to people who receive or receive an earlier pension, the date of granting the right to a universal pension falls after 2012, and its amount was reduced by the amounts of earlier pensions collected.
It was proposed that persons whose universal pension was reduced in this way would be able to recalculate the amount of the new universal pension at the time of submitting the application for its determination, without taking into account annual valorisation initial capital and contributions on the insured's account during the period of receiving an earlier retirement pension until the universal retirement age and without decreasing the retirement capital by the amounts of earlier pensions collected.
The new amount of pension determined in this way would then be increased by annual valorisations carried out in March for pensions. According to the design, this solution will also apply to people who still receive earlier pensions and have not applied for a universal pension.
Terms of use
This mechanism could be used by people who together met the following conditions:
- In the case of women, their date of birth fell in 1954-1959, and in the case of men in 1949-1952 and in 1954;
- They collect or receive earlier pensions;
- The date of granting the right to an earlier pension falls before June 6, 2012;
- applied for a universal pension granted after completing the statutory retirement age and this pension was established with a reduction in the basis for calculating by the sum of the amounts of “earlier” pensions collected or acquired the right to it, but they did not apply and continue to receive an earlier pension;
- The date of granting (acquiring) the right to a universal pension falls after 2012.
The authors of the planned law point out that the Constitutional Tribunal in its justification did not question the possibility of using a mechanism for deducting earlier pensions for people from other years than 1953. As they justify, as opposed to women born in 1949-1952, which could retire at the existing age, insured with the year 1953, it was not left to adapt. new situation.
According to ZUS calculations, about 200,000 citizens can cover changes in June 2024.
Source of the main photo: Shutterstock