Social Insurance Institution

Transcription

1 Socal Insurance Insttuton PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Who s the leaflet addressed to? The leaflet s addressed to persons who: q resde n Poland or n the Unted States of Amerca and clam penson nsurance benefts from ZUS on the bass of totalzed perods of employment (nsurance) completed n Poland and n the Unted States, q resde n the Unted States of Amerca and clam penson nsurance benefts from ZUS on the bass of perods of employment (nsurance) completed only n Poland, q resde n the Unted States of Amerca and are nterested n recevng, n ther place of resdence, a penson nsurance beneft that they are enttled to from ZUS. Legal bass for the coordnaton The Agreement on Socal Securty between the Republc of Poland and the Unted States of Amerca 1 (herenafter the Agreement ), sgned on 2 Aprl 2008, whch entered nto force on 1 March 2009, consttutes the legal bass for the coordnaton of penson systems between Poland and the Unted States. 1 Journal of Laws of 2009 No. 46, Text 374. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 1

2 Provsons of the Agreement concernng pensons are amed to facltate the acquston of penson enttlements and the recept of benefts from Poland and the Unted States of Amerca by persons employed (nsured) n these States. Penson provsons of the Agreement apply to: q Polsh natonals, q Unted States natonals, q persons not beng natonals of the States-partes to the Agreement. The Agreement apples to persons who have been covered by socal nsurance n Poland and n the Unted States, pursung occupatonal actvty as broadly understood, n partcular as employees and self-employed persons. It also apples to persons clamng pensons as survvors of the above mentoned persons. Whch penson nsurance benefts are covered by the Agreement of 2 Aprl 2008? The provsons of the Agreement are applcable to the followng Polsh penson benefts awarded by the Socal Insurance Insttuton (ZUS): q old-age pensons, q partal old-age pensons, q dsablty pensons, q famly (survvor s) pensons, q pensons n respect of work accdents and occupatonal dseases and lump-sum ndemnty payments from accdent nsurance, q funeral grants. The Agreement also apples to the perodc funded old-age penson. It s also applcable apart from the aforementoned benefts awarded by ZUS to penson nsurance benefts awarded from the socal nsurance contrbutons for farmers by the Farmers Socal Insurance Fund (Kasa Rolnczego Ubezpeczena Społecznego, KRUS). The followng Unted States benefts from the federal socal nsurance programme are covered by the Agreement: q old-age nsurance benefts, q dsablty nsurance benefts, q survvor s nsurance benefts, q lump-sum death payments. 2 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

3 However, the Agreement does not apply to Unted States cash benefts n respect of work accdents and occupatonal dseases. The Agreement does not govern the method of applcaton of US WEP (Wndfall Elmnaton Provson) laws regardng unfar advantages, as ths s a matter for Unted States domestc laws. The equalty of treatment prncple In accordance wth the equalty of treatment prncple, a person who resdes n Poland or n the Unted States, covered by the Agreement, must receve equal treatment wth those natonals of the other State-party to the Agreement n the applcaton of the laws of the other party regardng any enttlement to or payment of benefts. It means that dscrmnaton of a Polsh natonal who clams penson nsurance benefts from the Unted States s prohbted. Old-age pensons, dsablty pensons and survvors pensons for persons who have completed nsurance perods (herenafter: perods of coverage) n Poland and n the Unted States of Amerca V Establshment of the penson enttlement n each State-party to the Agreement where the person concerned was nsured It s for the laws of Poland 2 and of the Unted States to defne persons elgble for benefts and elgblty requrements. A person employed and covered by socal nsurance n Poland and n the Unted States may be granted a penson both n Poland and n the Unted States, f he or she satsfes the requrements under the laws of both States. Ths means that persons who satsfy the elgblty requrements n each of these States may receve pensons from both of them. Informaton on the elgblty requrements for ZUS pensons, as well as the rules governng the calculaton of benefts, may be found n the separate leaflets ttled: 2 The Act of 17 December 1998 on pensons from the Socal Insurance Fund, herenafter referred to as the Penson Act (Journal of Laws of 2013, Text 1440, as amended). PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 3

4 Old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund, Old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund awarded under the new rules, Dsablty penson, Survvor s penson, These leaflets are avalable at each ZUS unt and on the webste Informaton on the elgblty requrements for, and the rules governng the calculaton of a partal penson may be found on the webste. V Takng nto consderaton (aggregaton) of foregn perods of coverage Where a person clamng a penson under the legslaton of one State-party to the Agreement has not completed suffcent perods of coverage under the legslaton of that Party, the elgblty of that person for that beneft s determned by takng nto consderaton (totalzng) also foregn perods of coverage accumulated n the other State. Example Where a man born before 1 January 1949 has not completed the 25-year contrbutory and non-contrbutory perod n Poland requred under the Polsh legslaton to be awarded an old-age penson, after reachng the statutory retrement age 3 ZUS wll take nto account (totalze) also the Unted States perods of coverage and wll check f after ther aggregaton the man concerned satsf es the elgblty requrements for an old-age penson n Poland. V Calculaton of the amount of a penson establshed wth consderaton of the foregn perods of coverage completed n the other State-party to the Agreement the so called pro-rata penson Where enttlement to a penson s establshed wth the consderaton of foregn perods of coverage completed n the other State, the beneft amount s calculated n the followng way: frst, a competent nsttuton of the State whch has establshed the penson enttlement must determne the theoretcal (full) amount of the beneft whch would be awarded f all the perods of coverage had been completed under the laws of that State, subsequently, based on the theoretcal amount, the competent nsttuton must determne the actual amount of the pro-rata penson based on the rato of the perods of coverage completed n the State whch has establshed the enttlement to the total duraton of the perods completed n both States-partes to the Agreement. The pro-rata penson, calculated n ths way, s the beneft whch s due to the person concerned. 3 The statutory retrement age: 60 years for women, 65 years for men s subject to gradual ncrease to reach the age of 67 years for both sexes. Retrement age tables are avalable at the webste of the Socal Insurance Insttuton: 4 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

5 Example Where ZUS has determned an old-age penson for a man born before 1 January 1949 based on perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States, n total a duraton of 25 years, of whch 15 years were spent n Poland and 10 years n the Unted States, the Polsh old-age penson wll be calculated n the followng way: f 10 years n the USA) were completed n Poland, subsequently, rst, ZUS wll determne a theoretcal (full) benef t whch would be awarded to the person concerned f all the perods of coverage (25 years, of whch 15 years were n Poland and based on the theoretcal amount, ZUS wll determne the actual amount of the pro-rata penson correspondng to the rato between the duraton of the Polsh perods of coverage to the total duraton of the perods completed n Poland and n the Unted States; n the descrbed case ths wll be 15/25 of the theoretcal amount, because the person concerned has completed 15 years of the perods of coverage n Poland, and a total of 25 years of perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States. In effect the man wll be awarded by ZUS the pro-rata penson determned n the descrbed way. The above nformaton regardng determnaton of the pro-rata beneft s not applcable to the old-age penson under the new rules from ZUS, applcable to persons born after 31 December 1948, ncludng the partal penson 4 and to pensons for survvors of the mentoned persons, because such pensons are determned based on the amount of contrbutons accumulated n the account of the nsured person n ZUS, the amount of the ntal captal determned on the bass of contrbutory and non-contrbutory perods completed n Poland before 1 January 1999 and the amount of contrbutons accumulated n the sub-account of the nsured person n ZUS. The mentoned benefts are determned based only on the perods of coverage completed n Poland (wthout consderaton of the perods of coverage n the Unted States). The rules governng pro-rata pensons, establshed based on the rato between the duraton of the perods of coverage n Poland and the total duraton of the perods of coverage completed n Poland and n the USA, are not applcable to them. Example Where an old-age penson s granted from ZUS under the new rules to a man born after 31 December 1948 who has reached the retrement age and has completed a 5-year perod of coverage n Poland, as well as a 10-year perod n the Unted States, ZUS wll calculate the penson amount based only on the Polsh perods of coverage. 4 Although foregn nsurance perods may affect the enttlement to the partal old-age penson, they do not affect ts amount. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 5

6 The old-age penson awarded to the person concerned under the new rules s equal to the quotent resultng from dvdng the calculaton bass (the amount of ntal captal after ndexaton, the amount of contrbutons pad to the old-age penson nsurance after ndexaton and the amount of funds booked to the sub-account n Poland) by the average lfe expectancy 5 for persons of the age at whch the nsured person retres. Where the person concerned satsf es the requrements for enttlement to an old-age penson under US laws, the Unted States nsttuton wll award the benef t and determne ts amount takng nto account the aggregated Polsh and Unted States perods of coverage based on the rato between the duraton of the Unted States perods of coverage and the duraton of the coverage lfetme as determned n accordance wth US laws. V Calculaton of the amount of a penson establshed wthout consderaton of foregn perods of coverage, completed n the other State-party to the Agreement the so-called natonal (ndependent) penson If under the laws of a gven State-party to the Agreement the rght to a penson arses wthout consderaton of the foregn perods of coverage accumulated by the person concerned under the laws of the other State-party to the Agreement, the penson amount wll be based only on the perods of coverage completed n the State whch has establshed the enttlement to the beneft (natonal penson), wthout consderaton of the foregn perods of coverage completed n the other State-party to the Agreement. However, n ths case the competent nsttuton also determnes the penson amount that would be awarded on the bass of the totalzed perods of coverage completed n both States (a pro-rata penson), and f t s hgher than the penson amount calculated only on the bass of the Polsh perods of coverage (natonal penson) the person concerned wll be awarded a pro-rata penson. Example 1 Where the dsablty penson s granted by ZUS to a person who has completed a 10-year perod of coverage n Poland (whch s suff cent to acqure the rght to such a penson), but also a 5-year perod of coverage n the Unted States, ZUS wll determne the benef t amount n the followng way: on on the one hand t wll determne the natonal (full) penson based only on the Polsh perods of coverage, amountng to 10 years; the other hand t wll determne the pro-rata penson on the bass of the totalzed perods of coverage completed n Poland and n the Unted States, equal to 15 years;.e., f rst t wll 5 Lfe expectancy tables takng nto consderaton average lfe expectancy, the same for women and men, expressed n months for the nsured person s age are publshed on an annual bass by the Presdent of the Central Statstcal Offce n the Offcal Journal, n a form of an announcement. 6 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

7 subsequently calculate the theoretcal amount of the penson on the bass of the totalzed 15-year perod of coverage completed n both State-partes to the Agreement, and subsequently t wll calculate the pro-rata penson, correspondng to the rato between the duraton of perods of the coverage n Poland and the total duraton of the perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States, whch n the descrbed case equals 10/15 of the theoretcal amount, ZUS wll compare the amounts of the natonal penson and the pro-rata penson and wll determne the benef t n the amount more favourable for the person concerned. Example 2 Where an old-age penson s granted to a woman born before 1 January 1949, who has completed a 20-year perod of coverage n Poland (whch s suff cent to acqure the rght to such a penson), but also a 4-year perod of coverage n the Unted States, ZUS wll determne the benef t amount n the followng way: on the one hand t wll determne the natonal penson based only on the perods of coverage completed n Poland, equal to 20 years, on the other hand t wll determne a pro-rata penson on the bass of the totalzed perods of coverage completed n Poland and n the Unted States, equal to 24 years;.e., f rst t wll calculate a theoretcal (full) amount of the penson on the bass of the totalzed 24-year perod of coverage completed n both State-partes to the Agreement, and subsequently t wll calculate the (actual) pro-rata penson, whch n the descrbed case equals 20/24 of the theoretcal amount, subsequently ZUS wll compare the amounts: of the natonal penson and the pro-rata penson and wll determne the beneft n the amount more favourable for the person concerned. Where the person concerned satsf es the requrements for enttlement to an old-age penson under US laws, the US nsttuton wll award the beneft and determne ts amount takng nto account the aggregated Polsh and US perods of coverage based on the rato between the duraton of the perods of coverage completed under US laws and the duraton of the coverage lfetme as determned n accordance wth US laws. V Determnaton of a supplement ntended to brng the penson up to the Polsh mnmum penson for persons enttled to penson from the Socal Insurance Fund who resde n Poland but who have completed perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States Persons who resde n Poland, recevng pensons from ZUS and from the Unted States n a total amount lower than the mnmum penson as stated under Polsh legslaton, may be awarded a supplement ntended to brng ther beneft up to the level of the statutory mnmum. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 7

8 The rules for determnng the mentoned supplement by ZUS are dfferent for pensons awarded under earler prncples, where both the enttlement to and the amount of the beneft depended on the duraton of the perods of coverage, and for old-age pensons under the new rules whch depend on the resources accumulated n the penson account of the nsured person. The supplement to the beneft awarded under the earler rules desgned to brng the beneft up to the level of the Polsh mnmum penson, s granted by ZUS f the pensoner resdes n Poland and hs or her beneft has been determned n a pro-rata amount, based on the rato between the duraton of the perods of coverage n Poland and the total duraton of the perods of coverage completed n Poland and n the USA. The supplement s equal to the dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh penson and the aggregated amount of the Polsh old-age penson and the Unted States penson receved by the person concerned. The old-age penson awarded from the Socal Insurance Fund under the new rules, whose amount s lower than the mnmum Polsh penson, must be brought up to the level of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson under the condton that the person concerned can prove the requred nsurance (contrbutory and non-contrbutory) perods under the laws of Poland, these beng equal to 20 years for women and 25 years for men. The perod of coverage requred of women wll be gradually ncreased n to reach 25 years. If a person who resdes n Poland satsfes the requrement of the perods of coverage only after takng nto account the Unted States perods of coverage, the supplement wll amount to the dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson and the aggregated amount of the Polsh old-age penson and the Unted States old-age or dsablty penson receved by the person concerned. Example Where a 60-year old woman born n 1949, who resdes n Poland and has completed a 10-year perod of coverage n Poland and a 12-year perod of coverage n the Unted States, has been granted by ZUS an old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund under the new rules, determned n amount to be lower than the mnmum Polsh old-age penson, she wll receve a supplement to brng the benef t up to the level of the Polsh mnmum old- -age penson, f the total amount of the Polsh and the Unted States penson s lower than the mnmum old-age penson as envsaged under the Polsh legslaton. The supplement wll amount to the dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson 8 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

9 and the aggregated amount of the Polsh old-age penson and the Unted States old-age or dsablty penson receved by the person concerned. Where a person concerned who resdes n Poland and has accumulated perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States, of a total duraton of at least years for women and 25 years for men, and ZUS has granted hm or her an old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund under the new rules to an amount lower than the mnmum Polsh old-age penson, and f ths person s also enttled to a perodc funded penson, a supplement to brng the beneft up to the level of the Polsh mnmum old-age penson wll be equal to the dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh penson and the aggregated amount of the new old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund, perodc funded penson and the Unted States old-age or dsablty penson receved by the person concerned. The rules for establshng the supplement are not applcable to a partal old-age penson, for a partal old-age penson s not subject to an ncrease to brng ts amount up to the level of the mnmum old-age penson. V The bass for calculatng an old-age penson under the old rules or a dsablty penson for persons who have accumulated apart from the Polsh perods of coverage also perods of coverage under US laws The amount of an old-age penson under the so-called old rules 6 or the amount of the dsablty penson for persons who have accumulated apart from the Polsh perods of coverage also perods of coverage under US laws s calculated on the bass of the average bass for assessment of a contrbuton to penson nsurance (before 1 January 1999 to socal nsurance), pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, from the perod of 10 consecutve calendar years selected by the person concerned from the recent 20 calendar years drectly precedng the year when the person concerned fled the penson clam. The perod of 10 calendar years s determned wthout consderaton of full calendar years or perods of coverage completed n the Unted States. If n the perod of 20 calendar years drectly precedng the year when the person concerned fled a penson clam, the mentoned person was not covered by nsurance under the laws of Poland, the amount of the penson s based on an 6 Ths rule apples to persons born before 1 January 1949 and certan persons born after 31 December 1948 but before 1 January PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 9

10 average bass for the assessment of a contrbuton to socal nsurance pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, from the perod of 10 consecutve calendar years drectly precedng the year when the person concerned joned nsurance n the Unted States for the frst tme. On the request of the person concerned the amount of the penson may be also based on an average bass for the assessment of a contrbuton to socal nsurance, pursuant to the relevant Polsh legslaton, from the perod of 20 calendar years precedng the year when the person concerned fled a penson clam, selected from the whole perod of coverage under the laws of Poland. Pensons for the survvors of persons whose rght to the old-age penson under the old rules or to the dsablty penson have been establshed before ther death, or who have satsfed the requrements to qualfy for such benefts, are calculated based on the assessment bass of benefts for whch the deceased person was or could have been elgble. V The bass for calculatng the old-age penson under the new rules for persons who have accumulated apart from the Polsh perods of coverage also perods of coverage under US laws The amount of the old-age penson under the new rules 7 corresponds to the quotent resultng from dvdng the assessment bass by the average lfe expectancy 8 for persons of the age at whch the nsured person retres. The bass for the assessment of an old-age penson under the new rules s the total amount of contrbutons pad nto the old-age penson nsurance after ndexaton, the amount of the ndexed ntal captal and the amount of funds booked to the sub-account of the nsured person. Famly pensons for the survvors of persons whose rght to the old-age penson had been establshed before ther death under the new rules or who have satsfed the requrements to be granted such a beneft, are based on the bass for calculatng the beneft for whch the deceased person was or could have been elgble. The Unted States perods of coverage are not taken nto account n the determnaton of the bass for calculatng the old-age penson under the new rules and the penson for survvors of persons whose rght to an old-age penson had been establshed before ther death under the new rules or who had satsfed the requrements to be granted such beneft. 7 Ths rule apples to persons born after 31 December See footnote PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

11 More nformaton about the rules for determnng the bass for calculatng old-age pensons under the new penson scheme may be found n the ZUS leaflet ttled: The old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund awarded under the new rules and on the webste and nformaton about the rules for determnng the amount of a penson of the deceased person, consttutng the bass for calculatng the amount of the survvor s penson, may be found n the leaflet ttled: The survvor s penson and on the webste V Mnmum perod of coverage Where a perod of coverage under the Polsh legslaton s shorter than 1 year and based on that perod there wll be no elgblty for a Polsh penson, ZUS s under no oblgaton to award the penson wth consderaton of the perod of coverage completed n the Unted States. Example Where the employment (nsurance) perod of a clamant for a dsablty penson s shorter than 1 year (not suff cent to acqure the rght to the Polsh benef t), but the clamant has completed 15 years of perods of coverage under US laws, ZUS s under no oblgaton to award the Polsh penson takng nto account the perod of coverage completed under US laws. And f the perod of coverage accumulated under US laws s shorter than sx quarters, thus not creatng the rght to a US penson, the competent US nsttuton s under no oblgaton to grant the beneft takng nto account the perod of coverage under the laws of Poland. Such a perod of coverage completed n the Unted States may be, however, taken nto account by the competent Polsh nsttuton f when establshng the rght to the penson t fnds that wthout aggregatng the mentoned perod the beneft enttlement would not be acqured or that ts aggregaton allows one to ncrease the beneft. In the mentoned case the Polsh nsttuton wll calculate the pro-rata penson takng nto account the rato between the duraton of the perods of coverage completed under the laws of Poland and the total duraton of the perods of coverage completed under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States. Example Where a woman born before 1 January 1949 clamng an old-age penson, apart from employment (nsurance) perods under the laws of Poland, equal to 19 years and 6 months, has also completed perods of coverage under US laws equal to 6 quarters (that s 1 year and PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 11

12 3 months), not suff cent to acqure the rght to the US benef t, ZUS, n order to establsh the rght to a Polsh old-age penson, wll have to take nto account also the short perod of coverage under US laws and wll calculate a pro-rata benef t, correspondng to the rato between the duraton of the perods of coverage accumulated n Poland (19 years and 6 months, that s 234 months) and the total duraton of the perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States (20 years and 9 months,.e. a total of 249 months). In the descrbed case the pro-rata old-age penson wll be equal to 234/249 of the theoretcal amount. Penson n respect of accdent at work or occupatonal dsease The rght to Polsh pensons n respect of accdents at work and occupatonal dseases s establshed by the competent Polsh nsttuton only when the nsured person was subject to Polsh legslaton at the moment of njury or n the perod of performng work, as a result of whch the occupatonal dsease was contracted. Unted States benefts n respect of accdents at work and occupatonal dseases are not covered by the Socal Securty Agreement. Funeral grant The rght to a Polsh funeral grant s establshed and the grant s payable by the Socal Insurance Insttuton, n applyng Polsh legslaton. A penson for persons who have completed only Polsh perods of coverage, resdng n the Unted States of Amerca Where a penson clamant has accumulated only perods of coverage under the Polsh legslaton but resdes n the Unted States, the penson enttlement s establshed only by the competent Polsh nsttuton, that s the nsttuton authorsed to nvestgate the clam n Poland (ZUS or KRUS respectvely). The mentoned person may be granted a penson under the laws of Poland f he or she satsfes the requrements under these laws. Pursuant to the Agreement such penson awarded n Poland may be transferred to the person concerned to hs or her place of resdence wthn the terrtory of the Unted States. 12 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

13 Where to fle a penson clam? A person who has accumulated perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States should fle hs or her penson clam wth the nsurance nsttuton of one of State-partes to the Agreement. By whch he or she s not requred to lodge a separate clam n each State. Such an applcaton automatcally ntates the procedure of the penson enttlements nvestgaton n both State-partes to the Agreement where the person concerned was covered by nsurance contrbutons, and the date of the clam s bndng upon nsttutons of both States, unless the person concerned wshes to receve the beneft only from one of the States and nforms thereof the nsttuton where the clam s fled. q The person concerned who resdes n Poland and has accumulated perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States may fle the penson clam wth the relevant Polsh nsttuton (ZUS or KRUS). The mentoned clam may be also fled wth the US nsttuton the Federal Benefts Unt of the Embassy of the Unted States of Amerca n Warsaw, whch n turn wll transfer t to the competent Polsh nsttuton and at the same tme wll ntate the procedure of establshng US benefts. q The person concerned who resdes n the Unted States and has accumulated perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States, may fle hs or her penson clam wth the US nsurance nsttuton (drectly wth the Socal Securty Admnstraton n Baltmore or through the nearest branch of ths nsttuton n hs or her place of resdence). The Socal Securty Admnstraton n Baltmore, apart from examnng the rght to US benefts, wll transfer the clam for a Polsh penson to the relevant Polsh nsttuton (ZUS or KRUS respectvely). q The person concerned who resdes n the Unted States and has accumulated perods of coverage only n Poland, may fle the penson clam drectly wth the Polsh nsttuton competent n hs or her case, whch wll nvestgate the clam n Poland (ZUS or KRUS respectvely). The clam may be also fled through the Unted States nsurance nsttuton whch wll send t to the competent Polsh nsttuton. The date of flng the clam wth the US nsttuton wll be n ths case bndng upon the Polsh nsttuton. q The person concerned who resdes n a thrd country (other than Poland and the Unted States) and has accumulated perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States, may fle the penson clam wth the competent Polsh or US nsttuton. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 13

14 Where a penson clam s fled wth the Unted States nsttuton, the sad nsttuton s oblged nter ala to complete the clam for a penson to be awarded under Polsh legslaton and to transmt t to the competent nsttuton n Poland. Where the person concerned who resdes n the Unted States fles the penson clam pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, t s necessary to dentfy the competent Polsh nsttuton n hs or her case. The penson clam s nvestgated by ZUS f the person concerned was employed or self-employed (ran a busness outsde of agrculture) n Poland. But ZUS s not always competent to nvestgate the clam. It s not competent to nvestgate the penson clams of persons who were covered by the Polsh system of socal nsurance for farmers. In ths case the Farmers Socal Insurance Fund (KRUS) s the competent nsttuton. However, ZUS nvestgates the penson clams fled by persons who have accumulated perods of coverage n Poland as persons employed and self-employed outsde of agrculture and as farmers, f the last Polsh perod was a perod of nsurance as a person employed and self-employed outsde of agrculture. If ZUS s deemed the competent nsttuton, the penson enttlement s establshed by the local ZUS body desgnated to deal wth penson ssues subject to coordnaton pursuant to the Polsh-US Agreement: the Frst ZUS Branch n Warsaw The Dvson for the Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements. A person who resdes n Poland and has accumulated aggregated perods of coverage n Poland and n the Unted States, may fle hs or her penson clam drectly wth the above-mentoned ZUS unt, or through the nearest ZUS unt n hs or her place of resdence. How to draw up a penson clam to be fled wth ZUS? If the penson clam s fled drectly wth ZUS, t must be drawn up pursuant to the Polsh legslaton. It s to be fled on the relevant form: ZUS Rp-1E (Old-age penson clam), ZUS-ER-WEC-01 (Partal old-age penson clam), ZUS Rp-1R (Dsablty penson clam), ZUS Rp-2 (Survvor s penson clam). It must be accompaned wth: a questonnare on contrbutory and non-contrbutory perods (ZUS Rp-6), 14 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

15 documents justfyng the rght to Polsh benefts and enablng the calculaton of ther amount (such as: natonal nsurance cards, employment certfcates, ZUS Rp-7 certfcates, excerpts of regstry offce records, relevant medcal documentaton), documents provng the Unted States socal securty number and other nformaton for establshng the US beneft; for the purposes of the US beneft the person concerned should complete the auxlary form WZO-PL-1. Forms of applcatons and questonnares as well as the auxlary form WZO-PL-1 are avalable at ZUS unts and on the webste Persons resdng n the Unted States who have accumulated Polsh perods of coverage and fle a clam for a Polsh penson wth a local body of the Socal Securty Admnstraton, must complete a relevant form of clam for the Polsh beneft: q PL/USA 4 (Request for Polsh retrement annuty for an nablty to work), q PL/USA 5 (Request for a Polsh famly penson). The clam must be accompaned wth documents justfyng the rght to Polsh benefts and enablng the calculaton of ther amount (such as natonal nsurance cards, employment certfcates, ZUS Rp-7 certfcates, excerpts of regstry offce records, and wth regard to a beneft whose award s subject to the condton of a certfed ncapacty for work the relevant medcal documentaton and medcal evaluaton on the form PL/USA 7). If the applcaton for a funeral grant s fled wth ZUS, t must be drawn up pursuant to the Polsh legslaton. Ths may be fled on the form ZUS Z-12 (Applcaton for the payment of a funeral grant). Persons who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States and fle an applcaton for a funeral grant to be pad by ZUS wth a local body of the Socal Securty Admnstraton, must complete the form PL/USA 10 (Request for the payment of a Polsh bural allowance). Important: any clam for benefts should nclude approprate ID numbers, and namely: the PESEL statstcal dentfcaton number, or f such a number has not been ssued the seres and number of a natonal ID card or passport (ths may be a foregn passport). Where NIP s the tax dentfcaton number of the person concerned, the Polsh NIP should be also gven. Appeals aganst ZUS decsons on penson ssues by persons resdng n the Unted States of Amerca Appeals aganst ZUS decsons on penson ssues may be fled wth the competent Court for Labour and Socal Insurance through the ZUS penson body whch has ssued the decson, wthn one month from the date of recept of the decson. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 15

16 Persons who resde n the Unted States may fle an appeal aganst a ZUS decson wthn the above mentoned tme lmt also through the Unted States socal securty nsttuton, whch wll transmt the appeal to the competent ZUS unt. Penson payment by ZUS from the Polsh system to a person resdng n the Unted States of Amerca A ZUS beneft for any elgble person who resdes n the Unted States may be transferred, dependng on the nstructons gven to ZUS: q n Poland: r to the pensoner s bank account; or r to an authorsed person who lves n Poland; or q n the Unted States of Amerca n the form of transfer to the pensoner s foregn bank account n that State. A penson awarded by ZUS may be transferred to a person resdng n the Unted States to hs or her place of resdence. An applcaton for penson transfer to the Unted States may be fled wth the ZUS branch whch has awarded or had been earler payng the beneft. In the latter stuaton the case s transmtted to the Frst ZUS Branch n Warsaw The Dvson for the Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements. An applcaton for penson transfer may be also fled wth the Frst ZUS Branch n Warsaw. An applcaton for beneft transfer may be fled on the form ZUS-RZ-WZD-01 Request of a person resdng abroad for a change of address data / surname / f rst name / payment of Polsh benef t / change of bank account, desgnated for persons resdng abroad, whch s avalable on the ZUS webste. A penson s payable on a monthly bass on a day fxed n the ZUS decson as the date of beneft payment. If the penson amount transferred to the Unted States of Amerca s lower than the mnmum old-age penson as deemed under the Polsh legslaton, ZUS may decde on ts payment on a dfferent bass than monthly (e.g. on a quarterly bass). If the penson s transferred to the Unted States, the date of the bank transfer by ZUS to an ntermedary bank s consdered as the date of payment. Pensons are transferred to benefcares who resde n the Unted States after the deducton pursuant to the relevant tax legslaton of an advance payment of personal ncome tax n Poland (n a net amount). More detaled nformaton on taxes mposed on Polsh pensons payable to persons who resde n the Unted States and on the applcablty of the Conventon between Po- 16 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

17 land and the Unted States of Amerca for the avodance of double taxaton s avalable at the competent taxaton offce. Informaton n ths regard may be also obtaned on the followng telephone numbers of the Polsh Natonal Tax Informaton: (+48) (from landlnes) and (+48) (from moble telephones and from abroad). No natonal health nsurance contrbutons to the Natonal Health Fund are mposed on pensons transferred by ZUS to benefcares who resde wthn the terrtory of the Unted States. Detaled nformaton n ths regard s avalable at NFZ Headquarters. Informaton n ths regard may be also obtaned on the followng telephone numbers of the NFZ nfolne (+48) and (+48) or va emal at nfolna@nfz.gov.pl. Impact of Unted States benefts on the enttlement to and the amount of a penson receved from ZUS The fact that a person wth the establshed enttlement to a ZUS penson s also recevng a penson from the Unted States does not result n a reducton n or suspenson of the rght to a penson from ZUS. Impact of ZUS benefts on the amount of the penson receved from the Socal Securty The agreement does not deal wth the mpact of the acqured Polsh penson benefts on the possblty to receve benefts from the Unted States socal securty system. In some cases, Polsh old-age pensons receved from ZUS may reduce the amount of the Unted States pensons receved from the Socal Securty system. For nformaton on the Unted States WEP provsons (Wndfall Elmnaton Provson) regardng the reducton of benefts due to achevng unfar advantages, contact should be made drectly to the Unted States nsttuton the Socal Securty Admnstraton. Impact of earnngs from actvty pursued n the Unted States of Amerca on the enttlement to and the amount of the penson receved from ZUS Pensoners are oblged to notfy ZUS of earnngs and other ncomes from any actvty carred out abroad, for example n the Unted States. The level of such ncomes may affect the due amount of a ZUS penson. If the amount of foregn ncomes (or total Polsh and foregn ncomes) exceeds: PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 17

18 70% of the average monthly earnngs under Polsh legslaton but s not hgher than 130% of ths earnng fgure the penson s subject to reducton, 130% of the average monthly earnngs under Polsh legslaton the penson s suspended. These rules are not applcable to pensoners who have an establshed enttlement to a partal old-age penson or who have reached the statutory retrement age 9. Impact of contnung employment n the Unted States of Amerca on the enttlement to an old-age penson from ZUS The rght to an old-age penson awarded by ZUS s suspended regardless of the amount of a pensoner s ncome from any employment contnued wthout pror termnaton of the employment relatonshp wth the employer on whose behalf the retred person has been workng mmedately before the acquston of penson rghts, establshed by means of the penson body s decson. The mentoned rule also apples to an employment relatonshp establshed wth a Unted States employer. Ths means that the old-age penson clamant must termnate all employment relatonshps, both n Poland and n the Unted States of Amerca n order to have hs or her old-age penson pad by ZUS. Otherwse,.e., n the event of contnung employment wth the prevous employer, the rght to the Polsh old-age penson wll be automatcally suspended. The requrement for employment relatonshp termnaton does not apply where the person concerned has started employment already after the grantng of old-age penson rghts. Example A woman, who s currently workng and lvng n the Unted States of Amerca, as a result of reachng the statutory retrement age under Polsh law, has clamed an old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund. Snce she s employed by a Unted States company, ZUS wll grant her the rght to the old-age penson but at the same tme wll suspend ts payment. ZUS wll start the penson payment on the request of the person concerned after she has termnated employment and forwarded a certf cate conf rmng the termnaton of the employment relatonshp See footnote The requrement to termnate the employment contract concluded before the old-age penson was awarded n order to start (or contnue) recevng ths beneft was ntroduced on 1 January 2011 n Artcle 103a of the Penson Act. 18 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

19 Oblgatons towards ZUS of pensoners lvng n the Unted States of Amerca Pensoners are under oblgaton to notfy the ZUS body whch s the payer of ther benefts of any crcumstances affectng ther penson enttlement or payment. These crcumstances nclude n partcular: changes n personal data (e.g. name, surname) and address data, change n the place of resdence, changes n ther bank account number. Addtonally, pensoners who have not yet reached the statutory retrement age (except for recpents of partal old-age pensons) are also requred to nform of any employment undertaken or other ganful actvty, of recevng any ncome resultng n beneft reducton or suspenson (applcable both to ncome from actvtes pursued n Poland and abroad), of the school graduaton by a chld. ZUS pensoners are under oblgaton on demand of the penson body to certfy wth ther own sgnature the contnued enttlement to benef t. The ZUS body payng benefts to persons who resde n the Unted States perodcally sends to pensoners a form ttled: Declaraton of lvng and resdence to be completed and sent back to ZUS. The form should be completed and sgned by the pensoner themselves. Should the pensoner be not able to sgn t personally, the form should be sgned by a person who actually takes care of the benefcary. In both cases the sgnature should be authentcated by a competent body or an authorzed person n the place of resdence of the mentoned persons or by an authorzed person at a Polsh dplomatc or consular post. New forms of contact wth ZUS ZUS Electronc Servces Platform (Platforma Usług Elektroncznych, PUE) provdes people workng and lvng abroad wth new opportuntes of electronc contact wth ZUS and gves access to many other servces. Settng up an account at PUE provdes access to data stored n the ndvdual account kept by ZUS, ncludng data on the accumulated ntal captal and old-age penson contrbutons booked to the ndvdual account of the nsured person and of the funds booked to the sub-account of the nsured person. Users may also fle applcatons and receve responses by electronc means. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 19

20 Telephone nformaton can be obtaned from ZUS Call Centre (Centrum Obsług Telefoncznej, COT) under the followng numbers: q from Polsh landlne phones, q (+48) from moble phones as well as Polsh and foregn landlne phones. The Call Centre provdes explanatons on all matters, ncludng those related to socal nsurance coverage abroad, and nforms about the possbltes of recevng benefts n ths respect, also by e-mal (cot@zus.pl), chat and Skype (zus_centrum_obslug_tel). COT consultants provde assstance on weekdays from Monday to Frday Detaled nformaton for nsured persons and the necessary model documents are avalable on the webstes and How to obtan more nformaton? Ths leaflet has a general character. More detaled nformaton s avalable at: the nearest local ZUS unt, ZUS webste: Frst ZUS Branch n Warsaw The Dvson for the Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements (Kasprowcza 151, Warszawa) The Foregn Pensons Department at ZUS Headquarters, playng the role of the lason body n penson ssues subject to coordnaton on the bass of the Agreement, whch cooperates wth the US lason body (Senatorska 10, Warszawa, e-mal: drz@zus.pl). Informaton on US benefts may be obtaned from: The Federal Benefts Unt of the Embassy of the Unted States of Amerca n Warsaw (Pękna 12, Warszawa, Poland tel.: ), Offce of Internatonal Operatons (OIO) n Baltmore, USA (P.O. Box 17775, Baltmore, Maryland, USA , Warsaw, June 2014 Socal Insurance Insttuton (Foregn Pensons Department) Warszawa, Senatorska 10 Typesettng & Prnt: ZUS, Polgrafa n Warsaw. Edton of 1500 copes. Order No. 1623/14 20 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY