If you receive a pension or disability benefit from ZUS, or your initial capital has already been established, but you do not have documents confirming your earnings for part of your working life and therefore the Institution did not include those earnings when determining the basis for calculating your benefit, check whether it is possible to recalculate it taking the minimum wage into account. Recalculation may significantly change the amount of the pension you receive from ZUS.
When determining the basis used to calculate the amount of each benefit or initial capital (the so-called benefit calculation basis), ZUS includes insurance periods confirmed by documents submitted with an application for a pension, disability benefit or calculation of initial capital.
“When ZUS has included a period of employment in determining the calculation basis, but we have not provided documents confirming earnings from that period, earnings equal to zero are assumed for that period,” says Iwona Kowalska, ZUS press spokesperson in Lower Silesia. “That is why the benefit paid is lower than it could be after recalculation; however, an appropriate application must be submitted for this recalculation to be possible,” she adds.
Recalculation is possible when, upon applying for the amount of a pension, disability benefit or initial capital to be calculated, someone was unable to document earnings from a period of employment that ZUS included in determining the calculation basis. This may be because the workplace was liquidated, the former employee cannot locate the archive holding the payroll records of their workplace, or the personnel and payroll documentation from that period was destroyed. These are grounds for submitting an application to recalculate the amount of the benefit or initial capital.
“If such an application reaches us, we will check whether, in that particular case, we can use the minimum wage for employees for the relevant period and whether we can recalculate the amount of the benefit being paid or the amount of initial capital,” the spokesperson explains.
For periods for which someone has no documents confirming their earnings, ZUS determines the minimum wage proportionally to the period and the extent of employment. Thus, if an insured person worked half-time, half of the minimum wage applicable at that time will be taken into account. The Institution always informs the person about recalculation of a benefit or initial capital by issuing and sending a new decision. ZUS has 60 days to issue it.
The benefit will be recalculated from the month in which the application is submitted. To submit such an application, you can use the ready-made ERPO form for recalculating a pension or disability benefit. If someone wants to recalculate their initial capital, they should use the EKP application. The forms are available at all ZUS branches and on the website www.zus.pl.
The application can be submitted in person or through an authorized representative at any branch. It can also be sent by traditional mail or electronically via the ZUS Electronic Services Platform at www.zus.pl.
If anything is unclear, it is worth seeking information by contacting Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych consultants directly or calling the Telephone Service Centre, where experts are available Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 22 560 16 00 (call charges according to your operator agreement).
Another convenient way to contact ZUS is the Electronic Services Platform, e-mail: cot@zus.pl or Skype: zus_centrum_obslugi_tel.