14th Pension Payouts Set for September: Who Won’t Receive the Extra Benefit?

In September 2026, Polish seniors will receive the 14th pension, with a maximum gross amount of 1,978.49 PLN, though certain individuals will receive less or nothing at all.

14th Pension 2026. Payments Scheduled to Start in September

Seniors will not need to submit an additional application for the 14th pension payout. As a rule, the 14th pension is granted automatically, meaning eligible individuals do not need to apply to ZUS for the extra funds.

The fourteenth pension will land in seniors’ accounts as early as September of this year. However, the law provides several mechanisms that may cause the benefit to be lower than the maximum amount or not granted at all.

How Much Will the 14th Pension Be in 2026?

The starting point for calculating this year’s fourteenth pension is the lowest pension amount in effect since March 1, which is 1,978.49 PLN gross. The pension for total incapacity for work, the social pension, and the lowest survivor’s pension amount to the same figure. However, this does not mean that 1,978.49 PLN gross will go to all retirees and disability pensioners, as the 2,900 PLN gross threshold is key.

The rules for paying out the benefit are as follows.

At What Pension Level Will There Be No 14th Pension?

The limit is not exactly 4,828.49 PLN gross when asking about the last person who can actually receive the money, because the statutory rule stating that benefits lower than 50 PLN are not granted must be taken into account.

In practice, at the statutory amount of 1,978.49 PLN, the last paid fourteenth pension can amount to 50 PLN, and the basic benefit corresponding to this limit is 4,828.49 PLN gross. Above this value, the calculated fourteenth pension will be lower than the statutory minimum.

ZUS Will Not Pay the 14th Pension If the Retirement or Disability Pension Is Suspended

The amount of the pension is not the only reason for not receiving the 14th pension. The benefit is not available to individuals whose right to the benefit listed in the act was suspended on the last day of the month preceding the month of the fourteenth pension payout. In practice, if the 14th pension is paid out in September, the eligible person’s situation on August 31, 2026, will be crucial, which may matter for some people who have not reached the general retirement age and are working at the same time.

However, this should not be simplified to the statement that every working retiree loses the fourteenth pension after exceeding the 130 percent average salary limit. Therefore, the decisive factor is whether the benefit—retirement or disability pension—upon which the right to the fourteenth pension depends is suspended on the day required by law.

Who Can Get the 14th Pension?

The name “14th pension” is colloquial. In reality, the act refers to “another additional annual monetary benefit for retirees and disability pensioners.” The condition for paying out the fourteenth pension is holding the right to one of the benefits listed in Article 2 of the act on the last day of the month preceding the month of the fourteenth pension payout, with payouts handled by institutions such as ZUS.

Who Is Not Covered by the 14th Pension Act?

Not every benefit related to age or the end of professional activity grants the right to the fourteenth pension, as the closed catalog of benefits specified in Article 2 of the act matters. This means that simply receiving money from public funds by a person of retirement age is not enough to gain the right to the additional benefit.

Among those who will not receive the 14th pension are judges and prosecutors receiving remuneration while resting. Similarly, simply receiving the so-called Olympic benefit does not create the right to the fourteenth pension based on this provision.

14th Pension 2026 – Key Amounts

Under current regulations and the amount of the lowest pension in effect since March 2026, the key values are as follows.