Where does this confusion come from? For a long time, only ZUS paid both nursing allowances and nursing supplements. Later, payment of the allowances was taken over by the offices competent for the place of residence of the person receiving the allowance—that is, the commune head, mayor, or city president—while supplements continued to be paid by ZUS.
“You do not have to do anything at all if you are over 75, because ZUS will calculate the nursing supplement automatically and simply ‘add it’ to the pension or retirement benefit being paid,” says Iwona Kowalska-Matis, Regional Press Spokesperson for ZUS in Lower Silesia. “The supplement is also due to adults who are completely unable to work and live independently. In that case, age does not matter, but the supplement is granted upon application, which must be accompanied by medical certificates concerning their health,” Kowalska-Matis adds.
However, the supplement will not be paid to people who have already been granted a nursing allowance by the municipality, or to those staying in a nursing and treatment facility or a nursing and care facility for more than two weeks in a month.
Who is entitled to the supplement?
The nursing supplement paid by ZUS is available to a person entitled to a pension or retirement benefit in only two cases. The first is when the person has been declared completely unable to work and live independently; the second is when the person has reached the age of 75. Social pensions are an exception: nursing supplements are not payable with them, because nursing allowances for people receiving such pensions are generally granted and paid by social welfare centres, not by ZUS. People who have reached the age of 75 receive the nursing supplement from ZUS automatically. They do not need to submit any applications, because once they reach the relevant age, ZUS will begin paying the supplement automatically. By contrast, a nursing supplement granted on the basis of a decision by a ZUS certifying doctor, if the doctor determines that the person is completely unable to work and live independently, is granted “upon application”—to receive it, an application for payment must be submitted. The application may be filed at ZUS in person or sent by post. It may also be submitted by a carer or a person authorised by the patient. The application must include a certificate concerning the applicant’s health issued by the treating doctor, medical records, and other documents relevant to the decision. The nursing supplement is indexed every year and, since 1 March 2019, has amounted to PLN 222.01 per month.