Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) will introduce new life expectancy tables on April 1, 2026, potentially affecting pension amounts for those born after 1948.
New GUS Tables Effective April 1, 2026
New GUS tables predict that the average person will live over two months longer, impacting future pension calculations unless individuals choose to work longer or delay their ZUS application.
Life Expectancy Tables Explained
Average further life expectancy tables determine the statistically remaining months of life for individuals of a specific age, and are uniform for both men and women.
Impact on Pensions for Those Born After 1948
The new tables are significant for calculating pension amounts for individuals born after 1948. Pensions are calculated by dividing the accumulated contribution amount by the number of months an individual is statistically expected to live. Increased life expectancy means pensions calculated using these tables will be lower than those calculated with previous tables.
Tables Valid From April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027
GUS recently published the tables that will be used to calculate pensions from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.
Pension Calculation – General Principles
A pension is calculated by dividing the pension calculation base by the number of months an individual is statistically expected to live, according to the tables.
Components of the Pension Calculation Base
The pension calculation base includes various factors, including contributions and any applicable adjustments.
Pension Valorization and Potential Increases
Pensions are indexed annually from March 1st and may be increased if the pensioner continues to pay pension insurance contributions, for example, while employed.
Individual Insurance Account
ZUS maintains an insurance account for each person who has paid at least one contribution. Individual accounts have been maintained since 1999.
Contributions Registered on the Account
The account records pension contributions. For employees and contractors, these are contributions resulting from settlement documents submitted by the payer, even if they have not actually been paid. For entrepreneurs, ZUS only considers paid contributions when calculating pensions. The same principle applies to entrepreneurs’ associates.
Annual and Quarterly Valorization of Contributions
Contributions accumulated in the insurance account are indexed annually and quarterly. Funds accumulated in the account are not inherited or subject to division in the event of divorce or annulment of marriage.
Sub-Account
ZUS maintains a sub-account within the insurance account. A portion of the pension contribution paid by the payer flows into the sub-account, amounting to 19.52% of the contribution base (simplified – the insured’s income).
Contribution Allocation to the Sub-Account
Half of the contribution is deducted from the employee’s gross salary (9.76% of the contribution base), and the other half is financed by the employer from funds not included in the gross amount specified in the employment contract (the so-called “super gross”). A portion of the pension contribution is transferred to the sub-account (4.38% or 7.3% of the contribution base – depending on whether the insured is a member of the OFE and has decided to transfer the contribution to the ZUS sub-account).
Additional Items Registered on the Sub-Account
The sub-account also records arrears contributions, prolongation fees, and the amount corresponding to the value of redeemed investment fund units (OFE) in connection with the insured reaching an age 10 years below the retirement age.
Annual Valorization of the Sub-Account
The sub-account is indexed annually. Unlike funds recorded in the insurance account, those in the sub-account are part of the common property and, after the insured’s death, are paid to the designated person, or to heirs if no one is designated.
Division of Funds from the Sub-Account in Case of Divorce
Funds from the sub-account are divided between spouses (former spouses) in the event of divorce.
Initial Capital – Impact on Pension Amount
Initial capital is one of the contribution bases for the pension. ZUS calculates the initial capital only for people born after 1948, if they paid social insurance contributions before January 1, 1999, or for whom contributions were paid by payers.
Calculating Initial Capital
In simplified terms, initial capital is a hypothetical amount of contributions that would be paid for a given person if current regulations had been in effect before 1999.
Average Further Life Expectancy Tables
Life expectancy tables are announced in a communication in the Official Journal of the Republic of Poland “Monitor Polski” by the President of the Central Statistical Office, by March 31 of each year. They indicate how many months a person retiring at a given age will statistically live. These tables are used only to calculate the pension amount at the time of its granting and possibly its recalculation.
Use of Table Numbers in Pension Calculations
The numbers contained in the tables are used to calculate pensions granted on applications submitted from April 1 to March 31 of the following calendar year.
Applying the Most Favorable Tables
According to the rules for calculating pensions, if it is more beneficial for the applicant, the life expectancy tables in force on the day the applicant reached the retirement age of 60 for women and 65 for men are applied to calculate the pension, but the application was submitted later.
Exception to Applying the Most Favorable Tables
This rule does not apply if the person reached retirement age after the entry into force of the new tables.
Example: Utilizing Older GUS Tables
Anna turned 60 in March 2026 and submitted her pension application in April 2026. Her pension calculation base is 700,000 zł. If she had applied in March, her pension would have been approximately 2627 zł (700,000 zł : 266.4 months). The average further life expectancy in March 2026, when the old tables announced in 2025 were still in effect, for a person who turned 60 was 266.4 months.
In April 2026, using the new tables, her pension would be approximately 2610 zł (700,000 zł : 268.1 months). The average further life expectancy for a person of Anna’s age in April 2026 according to the new tables is 268.1 months. The tables published in 2025 predicted that a person of Anna’s age in the month of applying for a pension (60 years and 1 month) would statistically have 265.6 months of life ahead of them. ZUS will therefore apply the old tables and determine the pension amount to be approximately 2635 zł (700,000 zł : 265.6 months).
Example: Mandatory Use of New GUS Tables
Anna turned 60 in April 2026 and submitted her pension application in April 2026. Her pension calculation base is 700,000 zł. In April 2026, using the new tables, her pension is approximately 2603 zł (700,000 zł : 268.9 months). The average further life expectancy for a person of Anna’s age in April 2026 according to the new tables is 268.9 months. The tables published in 2025 predicted that a person of Anna’s age in the month of applying for a pension (60 years), would statistically have 266.4 months of life ahead of them. ZUS cannot apply the old tables because Anna turned 60 after the new tables came into effect.
Mitigating Lower Pensions with New GUS Tables
As the new GUS tables show, average further life expectancy has increased by 2.5 months. In practice, this means that you need to retire 3 months later than with the old tables to get the same pension amount.
Example: Delaying Application by 3 Months
Anna turned 60 in April 2026 and submitted her pension application in April 2026. Her pension calculation base is 700,000 zł. In April 2026, using the new tables, her pension is approximately 2603 zł (700,000 zł : 268.9 months). The average further life expectancy for a person of Anna’s age in April 2026 according to the new tables is 268.9 months. The tables published in 2025 predicted that a person of Anna’s age in the month of applying for a pension (60 years), would statistically have 266.4 months of life ahead of them. The new tables effective from April 1, 2026, predict that a person of a similar number of months to live (266.5) is a person aged 60 years and 3 months.
However, this is a simplification. For people who work, submitting an application 3 months later means not only a different number of months used in the calculations, but also additional months of paying pension contributions.
However, both these additional contribution amounts and the slightly delayed submission of the pension application will have a small impact on increasing the pension.
Increasing Pension After Receiving It
Once granted, a pension can be recalculated. If, after the pension is granted, the pensioner paid contributions to pension insurance as an entrepreneur or the payer paid such contributions for them, they may apply for a recalculation of the pension taking into account the newly paid contributions to the pension account.
Frequency of Pension Recalculation
It is not possible to apply for a pension recalculation more than once a year, unless the pension and annuity insurance ceases to exist.
Legal Basis
Act of December 17, 1998 on pensions and benefits from the Social Insurance Fund (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1631, as amended).
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