How To Get A Penson From Poland Or Canada

Transcription

1 Socal Insurance Insttuton PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND CANADA Who s the leaflet addressed to? The leaflet s addressed to persons who: q resde n Poland or n Canada or n a thrd country and clam penson nsurance benefts from ZUS on the bass of nsurance perods (the so-called credtable perods ) completed n Poland and n Canada, or q resde n Canada and clam penson nsurance benefts from ZUS on the bass of nsurance perods completed only n Poland, or q resde n Canada 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 Canada 1 (herenafter the Agreement ), sgned on 2 Aprl 2008, whch entered nto force on 1 October 2009, consttutes the legal bass for the coordnaton of the penson systems of Poland and Canada. The provsons of the Agreement are nter ala amed to facltate the acquston of penson enttlements and the recept of benefts from Poland and Canada by persons workng n the terrtory of these states. 1 Journal of Laws of 2009 No. 133, Text PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 1

2 Pursuant to the mentoned legal act, the competent authortes concluded on 2 Aprl 2008 the Admnstratve Arrangement for the mplementaton of the Agreement on Socal Securty between the Republc of Poland and Canada, whch establshed the procedures for clamng penson benefts under the Agreement. Who takes advantage of the Agreement? The penson provsons of the Agreement apply to: q natonals of the Republc of Poland, q natonals of Canada, q persons not beng natonals of any of these States Partes to the Agreement (.e. natonals of thrd countres and stateless persons). The provsons of the Agreement concern persons who have been subject to socal nsurance n Poland and n Canada, pursung occupatonal actvty wdely conceved n partcular as employees and self-employed persons, persons performng work on the bass of cvl-law contracts or on the bass of other nsurance ttles. The Agreement also apples to penson clamants beng the survvors of the above mentoned persons. The aforementoned persons are covered by the Agreement rrespectve of ther State of resdence (n Poland, n Canada or n a thrd country). Whch benefts are covered by the Polsh-Canadan Agreement? The provsons of the Agreement of 2 Aprl 2008 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). 2 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

3 Wth respect to Canada, the Agreement apples to benefts awarded under: the Old Age Securty Act and the regulatons made thereunder; and the Canada Penson Plan and the regulatons made thereunder. The aforementoned legslaton provdes for: q old age securty, q retrement penson, q survvor s benefts, q death benefts, q dsablty benefts, q survvng chld or a dsabled contrbutor s chld. However, untl a complementary nternatonal agreement s sgned, the Agreement wll not apply to benefts under the Quebec Penson Plan. T he prncple of equalty of treatment Pursuant to the equalty of treatment prncple, any person covered by the Agreement s subject to the oblgatons of the legslaton of the other Party and s elgble to the benefts of that legslaton under the same condtons as ctzens of that Party. Ths means that dscrmnaton of a person who was covered by socal nsurance n Poland and n Canada s prohbted when clamng penson benefts both from Canada and from Poland. O ld-age, dsablty and survvor s (famly) pensons for persons who have been workng n Poland and n Canada V Establshment of the rght to a penson n parallel by nsttutons n Poland and n Canada It s for the legslaton of Poland 2 and of Canada to defne persons enttled to penson benefts and elgblty requrements n each of these States. A person who has been workng and covered by socal nsurance n Poland and n Canada may be granted a penson both n Poland and n Canada, f he or she satsfes the requrements under the legslaton of both States. Ths means that persons who satsfy the qualfyng condtons n each of these States, may receve pensons from both of them. 2 Terms and condtons for the acquston and calculaton of benefts, descrbed n ths leaflet, relate to penson benefts from ZUS,.e. provded for n 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 Informaton on the elgblty requrements for ZUS pensons, as well as the rules governng the calculaton of benefts, may be found n separate leaflets ttled: 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 every 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 ZUS webste. Informaton on benefts under the Canadan socal securty system s avalable at the relevant Canadan nsttuton (address on p. 20 of the leaflet) and on the webste: V Takng nto consderaton (totalzng) of perods for grantng benefts The Agreement provdes for the takng nto consderaton (totalzng) of credtable perods accumulated n one State when determnng the elgblty for and the amount of benefts n the other State. Ths means that when a person applyng for a penson under the legslaton of one Party to the Agreement has not accumulated suffcent credtable perods under the legslaton of that Party, the elgblty of that person for that beneft s determned by takng nto consderaton (totalzng) also the foregn credtable perods accumulated n the other State. The term credtable perod means for the purposes of the Agreement: q wth respect to Poland a perod used to establsh a penson under Polsh legslaton,.e. the contrbutory and non-contrbutory perods under ths legslaton, q wth respect to Canada: a perod of contrbuton used to establsh a penson under the Canada Penson Plan, and a perod durng whch a dsablty penson s payable under that Plan, as well as a perod of resdence used to establsh the old-age penson under the Old Age Securty Act. Example For example: when a man born before 1 January 1949, clams an old-age penson from ZUS, but has not accumulated the 25-year nsurance perod n Poland (contrbutory and non-contrbutory perod) requred under Polsh legslaton to be awarded an old-age penson after reachng the statutory retrement age 3, ZUS wll take nto account (totalze) also Canadan credtable perods, certf ed by the competent Canadan nsttuton, and wll verfy f after totalzng the man concerned satsf es the elgblty requrements for an old-age penson n Poland. 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 on 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 If, on the bass of the credtable perods completed n both States, the person concerned s not enttled to a penson n a gven State (due to an nsuffcent nsurance perod), the elgblty of that person for that beneft s determned by totalzng these perods and credtable perods completed under the legslaton of a thrd country,.e. another State than Poland or Canada yet bound wth both of them by socal securty nstruments whch provde for a totalzng of the perods 4. Example For example: when a woman born before 1 January 1949, after reachng the statutory retrement age has not acqured the rght to an old-age penson from ZUS because she had completed n Poland and n Canada a total credtable perod of 12 years (nstead of the mnmum requred 20 years) but she had also completed a 10 year nsurance perod n France (Poland and Canada are bound wth France by agreements provdng for the aggregaton of perods), ZUS wll take nto account the French nsurance perod and wll award an old-age penson, because after aggregatng the credtable perods, completed jontly n Poland, Canada and France, the woman has satsf ed the condton of the nsurance perod as requred under Polsh legslaton 5. V C alculaton of the pro-rata penson from ZUS establshed wth consderaton of Canadan perods If to award a penson from ZUS t s necessary to take nto account Canadan credtable perods completed by the person concerned, ZUS calculates a pro-rata beneft; ZUS calculates the penson n the followng way: q frst t calculates the theoretcal (full) amount of the penson whch would be awarded f all the credtable perods completed n Poland and n Canada (and possbly n a thrd country, f such a perod s taken nto account) had been completed n Poland, q subsequently, based on the theoretcal amount, t calculates the actual amount of the pro-rata beneft based on the rato of the credtable perods completed n Poland to the total duraton of all the perods completed n both partes to the Agreement (and possbly n a thrd country, f such a perod s taken nto account). The pro-rata penson, calculated n ths way, s the beneft whch s due from ZUS to the person concerned. 4 The countres wth whch Poland s bound by agreements nclude Member States of the European Unon (EU) and the European Free Trade Assocaton (EFTA) wthn the EU coordnaton of socal securty systems and the countres wth whch Poland has concluded blateral nternatonal agreements on socal securty. Current nformaton on the lst of EU/EFTA Member States and the countres wth whch Poland has concluded agreements on socal securty may be found on the webste: whle a lst of countres wth whch Canada has entered nto nternatonal agreements on socal securty may be found on the webste of the Canadan nsttuton Servce Canada bfa/summarytoc.shtml. 5 See footnote 2. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 5

6 Example If ZUS has establshed an old-age penson of a man born before 1 January 1949 based on 16 years of Polsh nsurance perods, takng nto consderaton 10 years of credtable perods under the legslaton of Canada, the old-age penson payable by ZUS wll be calculated n the followng way: q f rst, ZUS wll determne a theoretcal (full) penson whch would be awarded to the person concerned f the total nsurance perod of 26 years, n Poland and n Canada, was completed n Poland, q subsequently, based on the theoretcal amount, ZUS wll determne the actual amount of the pro-rata benef t correspondng to the rato of Polsh perods to the total duraton of all the credtable perods under the legslaton of Poland and Canada; n the descrbed case ths wll be 16/26 of the theoretcal amount, because the man has completed 16 years of nsurance perods n Poland, and a total of 26 years of credtable perods n Poland and n Canada. In effect the man wll be awarded by ZUS the pro-rata penson determned n the descrbed way. The prncple of calculatng the pro-rata beneft takng nto account credtable perods completed n Canada s not applcable to an old-age penson awarded by ZUS under the reformed system, 6 the so-called old-age penson under the new rules, and pensons for survvors of recpents of such a penson or persons elgble for such penson. These benefts are based on resources accumulated n the nsured person s account n ZUS, ncludng socal nsurance contrbutons after ndexaton, the ntal captal and funds booked to the sub-account of the nsured person n ZUS,.e. wthout consderaton of the Canadan credtable perods. Example If ZUS has establshed the rght to an old-age penson under the new rules of a man born after 31 December 1948, aff lated to the Open Penson Fund (Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny, OFE), who had completed a 7-year nsurance perod n Poland and a 17-year credtable perod n Canada, the amount of the benef t wll be calculated based only on the resources accumulated n the nsured person s ndvdual account n ZUS for the 7 years of nsurance n Poland,.e. ncludng old-age penson contrbutons booked to the ndvdual account of the nsured person, funds booked to the sub-account of the nsured person and as regards contrbutons pad before 1999 the amount of the ntal captal after ndexaton. V C alculaton of the pro-rata penson from ZUS e stablshed wthout consderaton of the Canadan perods If under Polsh legslaton the rght to a penson from ZUS dependng on the length of the contrbutory and non-contrbutory perods arses wthout consderaton of the Canadan credtable perods, the penson amount wll be based only on the nsurance perods completed n Poland (natonal penson), wthout consderaton of the Canadan perods. 6 Ths rule apples to persons born after 31 December PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

7 However, n ths case ZUS wll also determne the pro-rata penson amount that would be awarded on the bass of the totalzed perods completed n Poland and n Canada, and f t s hgher than the penson amount calculated only on the bass of the Polsh credtable perods (natonal penson) the person concerned wll be awarded a pro-rata penson. Example If a dsablty penson s granted by ZUS to a person who has completed a 15-year perod of nsurance n Poland (whch s suff cent to acqure the rght to such a penson), but also a 8-year credtable perod n Canada, ZUS wll determne the penson amount n the followng way: q on the one hand t wll determne a penson based only on the Polsh nsurance perod, equal to 15 years, q on the other hand t wll determne a pro-rata penson,.e. f rst t wll calculate the theoretcal amount of the penson based on 23 years of totalzed credtable perods completed n both States, n Poland and n Canada, and subsequently t wll calculate the pro-rata penson, whch n the descrbed case equals 15/23 of the theoretcal amount, q f nally t wll compare the amounts calculated n both varants and wll award the benef t n the amount more favourable to the person concerned. V Determnaton of a supplement ntended to brng the old-age penson up to the Polsh mnmum old-age penson for persons enttled to an old-age penson under the new rules from the Socal Insurance Fund, who resde n Poland but who have completed credtable perods of coverage n Poland and n Canada or n a thrd country 7 The old-age penson awarded from the Socal Insurance Fund under the new rules, whose amount s lower than the mnmum Polsh old-age penson, wll be brought up to the level of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson under the condton that the person concerned proves the requred nsurance (contrbutory and non-contrbutory) perods under the laws of Poland, equal to 20 years for women and 25 years for men. The nsurance perod requred of women wll be gradually ncreased n to reach 25 years. If a person who resdes n Poland satsfes the requrement of nsurance perods only after takng nto account credtable perods completed n Canada or after takng nto account credtable perods completed n Canada and credtable perods completed under the laws of a thrd country, the supplement s establshed to brng the old-age penson up to the level of the statutory mnmum. Ths amounts to a dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson and the aggregated amount of: q Polsh and Canadan pensons; or q Polsh and Canadan pensons and the pensons of a thrd country. 7 A thrd country,.e. another State than Poland or Canada bound wth both of them by a socal securty agreement whch provdes for the totalsng of credtable perods. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 7

8 Example Havng calculated based on the resources accumulated n the penson account n ZUS the amount of an old-age penson for a woman born n 1950 who resdes n Poland and has reached the statutory retrement age, ZUS establshes the old-age penson under the new rules n an amount lower than the mnmum Polsh old-age penson. The woman concerned has completed a 10-year nsurance perod n Poland, whch does not guarantee the rght to have the old-age penson brought up to the Polsh mnmum old-age penson. However, after takng nto account 15 years of credtable perods completed n Canada, she wll be enttled to the supplement f the totalzed amount of her old-age penson from ZUS and the Canadan penson s lower than the mnmum Polsh old-age penson. The supplement wll amount to the dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson and the totalzed amount of the Polsh old-age penson and the Canadan penson. The rules for establshng the supplement are not applcable to a partal old-age penson, because a partal old-age penson s not subject to ncrease to brng ts amount up to the level of the mnmum old-age penson. V T he bass for calculatng pensons from ZUS f or persons who have completed apart from the Polsh nsurance perods also Canadan credtable perods The amount of an old-age penson under the old rules 8 or a dsablty penson for persons who have completed apart from the Polsh nsurance perods also credtable perods under the Canadan legslaton s based on an average bass for the assessment of a contrbuton to penson nsurance (before 1 January 1999 to socal nsurance), pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, from a 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 a penson clam. The perod of 10 calendar years s determned wthout consderaton of full calendar years of credtable perods accumulated n Canada. 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 nsured n Poland, the amount of the penson s based on an 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 frst joned the natonal nsurance system n Canada. 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, pursuant to the Polsh 8 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 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 nsurance coverage n Poland. Pensons for survvors of persons whose rght to the old-age penson under the old rules or to a dsablty penson has been establshed before ther death, or who have satsfed the requrements to be granted such benefts, are based on the bass for calculatng the benefts for whch the deceased person was or could have been elgble. V T he bass for calculatng the old-age penson under the new rules from ZUS f or persons who have completed apart from the Polsh nsurance perods also Canadan credtable perods The amount of an old-age penson for people born after 31 December 1948, awarded under the new rules, corresponds to the quotent resultng from dvdng the assessment bass by the average lfe expectancy 9 for persons at the age equal to the retrement age of the clamant. The bass for assessment of an old-age penson under the new rules s the total amount of contrbutons pad to 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 n ZUS. Famly pensons for the survvors of persons whose rght to an old-age penson has 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. Canadan credtable perods are not taken nto account n 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 has been establshed before ther death under the new rules or who have satsfed the requrements to be granted such a beneft. 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 whle nformaton about the rules for determnng the amount of a deceased person s penson, consttutng the bass for calculatng the amount of a survvor s penson, may be found n the leaflet ttled: The survvor s penson and on the webste 9 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 the form of an announcement. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 9

10 V Mnmum credtable perods subject to aggregaton wth credtable perods completed n another State-Party to the Agreement If the Polsh nsurance perod s less than one year and based on that perod there wll be no elgblty for a Polsh penson, the Polsh competent nsttuton s not under oblgaton to award a penson n respect of ths perod. Example A woman born before 1 January 1949, clamng an old-age penson under the earler rules, has completed a 10-month nsurance (employment) perod n Poland, not suff cent to acqure the rght to a penson from ZUS because the mnmum contrbutory and non-contrbutory perod for her s 15 years. The woman concerned has also accumulated a 21-year Canadan credtable perod. However, because the perod of nsurance n Poland s less than one year, ZUS has no bass to take nto account the Canadan credtable perod for the purposes of establshng a Polsh old-age penson. Ths means that the person concerned wll not acqure the rght to an old-age penson because of the falure to meet a condton of the nsurance perod requred under the Penson Act 10. Also when the Canadan credtable perod s less than one year and based on that perod there s no enttlement to a Canadan penson, the Canadan nsttuton s under no oblgaton to award the beneft under the Canadan system nor to take nto account Polsh nsurance perods. However, credtable perods of less than one year n respect of whch no rght to a beneft exsts under the legslaton of the State where they have been accumulated, must be taken nto consderaton by the nsttuton of another Party to the Agreement to determne benefts dependng on the length of the completed nsurance perods. Therefore, the 10-month nsurance perod mentoned n the above example, completed by the person concerned n Poland, wll be consdered by the Canadan nsurance nsttuton n determnng the rght to benefts from the Canadan penson system. If the Polsh penson was determned wth consderaton of the Canadan credtable perod of less than one year, ZUS wll calculate the pro-rata penson takng nto account the rato between the duraton of the Polsh nsurance perod and the total duraton of the Polsh and Canadan credtable perods. Example If a woman born before 1 January 1949 who clams an old-age penson has accumulated, apart from nsurance perods completed n Poland equal to 14 years and 6 months,.e. 174 months, a cred- 10 See footnote PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

11 table perod n Canada equal to 11 months, not suff cent to acqure the rght to a Canadan benef t, the Canadan nsttuton s under no oblgaton to award the benef t. But ZUS, n order to establsh the rght to a Polsh old-age penson, wll take nto account the 11-month Canadan perod and wll calculate the pro-rata benef t (n the proporton 174/185 of the theoretcal amount n respect of the 185-month perod under the Penson Act). Penson n respect of accdent at work or occupatonal dsease Enttlement to Polsh pensons n respect of work accdents and occupatonal dseases s determned by ZUS only when the person concerned was covered by socal nsurance n Poland at the tme of the work accdent or at the tme of the emergence of the occupatonal dsease. The rght to and the amount of these benefts s establshed by ZUS pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, wthout consderaton of credtable perods completed n Canada. More detaled nformaton n ths regard s avalable on the ZUS webste: Funeral grant The rght to a funeral grant s establshed and the grant s payable by the Polsh and Canadan socal nsurance nsttutons ndependently, wth applcaton of ther respectve natonal laws. More detaled nformaton on funeral grants awarded by ZUS on the bass of Polsh legslaton s avalable on a webste A penson for persons who have completed only Polsh nsurance perods, resdng n Canada Where a penson clamant has accumulated only perods of nsurance under the Polsh legslaton, penson enttlement s establshed only by ZUS. The mentoned person may be granted the penson n Poland f he or she satsfes the requrements under the Polsh legslaton See footnote 2. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 11

12 Evaluaton of an ncapacty for work for penson purposes Evaluaton of such an ncapacty, assessment of the degree of dsablty, the date of ts occurrence, ts permanency or expected duraton as well as other crcumstances related to an ncapacty for work affectng the rght to a penson, fall wthn the competence of a ZUS evaluatng doctor, and f the decson of the ZUS doctor s appealed aganst wthn the competence of a ZUS medcal board. The mentoned bodes ssue a decson also when the penson clamant permanently resdes n Canada. In such a case the ZUS evaluatng doctor evaluates an ncapacty for work on the bass of the medcal opnon drawn up by the medcal practtoner n charge of the person concerned or on the bass of documentaton suppled by the penson clamant. Pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, a person who s ncapable of work s a person who has lost, completely or partly, earnng capacty due to a dsturbance of body ftness and condton, and for whom retranng does not promse a restoraton of hs or her prevous earnng capacty. There s dstngushed: q complete ncapacty for work certfed n the case of a person who has lost ther capablty for any work or q partal ncapacty for work certfed n the case of a person who has lost to a consderable degree ther capablty for work correspondng to ther level of qualfcatons. Whle the nablty for ndependent exstence s certfed n the case of body mparment whch requres the permanent or long-term care and assstance of another person to satsfy basc lvng needs. The Socal Insurance Insttuton s not bound by any assessment of the degree of dsablty made for the purposes of Canadan benefts, based on the Canadan legslaton. Where to fle and how to draw up a penson clam? V The procedure of smultaneous nvestgaton of enttlements to Polsh and Canadan penson benefts A person who has accumulated credtable perods n Poland and n Canada should fle hs or her penson clam wth the nsurance nsttuton of one of these States. Ths means that he or she s not requred to lodge a separate clam n each State. 12 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

13 Such a clam automatcally trggers off the procedure of a penson enttlement nvestgaton n both States where the person concerned has been covered by nsurance, and the date of the clam s bndng upon the nsttutons of both State-Partes to the Agreement. Important: the clam for benefts awarded by ZUS 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, a Polsh NIP should be also gven. V A person resdng n Poland A person who resdes n Poland and has accumulated credtable perods n Poland and n Canada should fle hs or her penson clam wth the competent Polsh socal nsurance nsttuton,.e. wth ZUS or KRUS, dependng on the system wthn whch a gven person has been recently operatng. Frst ZUS Branch n Łódź The Dvson for the Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements s the competent nsttuton to nvestgate the penson clam n ZUS under the Polsh-Canadan Agreement on socal securty (see: p. 20). A person who resdes n Poland may fle hs or her penson clam drectly wth the above-mentoned ZUS body, or through the nearest ZUS body n hs or her place of resdence. Persons submttng to ZUS clams for Polsh and Canadan benefts must fll n the approprate ZUS form: q ZUS Rp-1E (Old-age penson clam), q ZUS-ER-WEC-01 (Partal old-age penson clam), q ZUS Rp-1R (Dsablty penson clam), q ZUS Rp-2 (Survvor s penson clam). The clam should be accompaned wth the ZUS form ZUS Rp-6 and documents justfyng enttlement to Polsh benefts and enablng the calculaton of ther amount (such as: nsurance cards, employment certfcates, ZUS Rp-7 certfcates, excerpts of regstry offce records, relevant medcal documentaton). An approprate clam for the Polsh beneft should be accompaned by the relevant clam for the Canadan beneft, f the clamant also wants to be awarded a Canadan beneft: q PL-CAN 1 (Clam for Canadan old age securty, retrement penson and survvor s benef t under the Agreement on Socal Securty between Canada and the Republc of Poland), q PL-CAN 1 (DI) (Clam for dsablty penson n conformty wth the provsons of the Canada Penson Plan under the Agreement on Socal Securty between Canada and the Republc of Poland); the clam has to be accompaned by a dsablty questonnare, a medcal report (part A to PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 13

14 be flled n by the clamant and part B by the medcal practtoner) and wth the consent to make one s personal data avalable to Servce Canada, q PL-CAN 3 (Clam for benef ts for a survvng chld or a dsabled contrbutor s chld n conformty wth the provsons of the Canada Penson Plan under the Agreement on Socal Securty between Canada and the Republc of Poland). Persons clamng Canadan dsablty benefts should also append the avalable medcal documentaton. Forms for the aforementoned clams are avalable on the webste of the relevant Socal Insurance Insttuton. After ntatng the procedure ZUS forwards the clam for the Canadan beneft to the competent Canadan nsttuton for nvestgaton. The date on whch the clam has been receved by ZUS s bndng on the Canadan nsttuton. A person who resdes n Poland may also fle a clam for Polsh and Canadan benefts wth the Canadan nsttuton. In such a stuaton, the clam for Canadan benefts wll be nvestgated by the Canadan nsttuton and the clam for benefts awarded under the Polsh legslaton wll be forwarded for nvestgaton to the competent Polsh nsttuton,.e. ZUS or KRUS respectvely. A person who resdes n Poland and has accumulated only credtable perods n Canada, should submt hs or her clam for Canadan benefts drectly to the Canadan nsttuton. Such a clam may be also submtted through ZUS, whch wll send t to the competent nsttuton n Canada. V A pers on resdng n Canada A person who resdes n Canada and has accumulated credtable perods n Poland and n Canada should fle hs or her penson clam wth the competent Canadan socal nsurance nsttuton,.e. Internatonal Operatons AB Servce Canada (see: p. 20). A person who resdes n Canada may fle hs or her penson clam drectly wth the aforementoned nsttuton or through the nearest body of Servce Canada. Persons clamng Polsh and Canadan benefts n the Canadan nsttuton, should n order to acqure the Canadan beneft, fll n the form provded by ths nsttuton, whle n order to acqure the Polsh beneft from ZUS they should fll n the followng forms: q CAN-PL 1 (Clam for a Polsh old-age or work dsablty penson), q CAN-PL 2 (Clam for a Polsh famly (survvor s) penson), q CAN-PL 6 (Clam for the payment of a Polsh funeral grant). The clam for beneft from ZUS should be accompaned by documents justfyng the enttlement to Polsh benefts and enablng the calculaton of ther amount. Employment perods should be documented wth employers certfcates, certfcates of employment 14 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

15 or nsurance cards wth entres on employment made n the course of employment or mmedately after the termnaton of the employment contract. A certfcate of employment perod n Poland may be ssued by: q the employer based on the avalable personal fles of the employee, q the legal successor of the employer on the bass of the personal fles of the employee nherted, q the body whch stores the documents of a lqudated work establshment (a foundng body, a supervsory body, archves or a document storng company). Detaled nformaton on the evdence requred s avalable on the webste The followng documents certfy earnngs for calculatng the base amount of penson benefts: a certfcate ssued by the employer on the form ZUS Rp-7 or an nsurance card wth the relevant entres on employment perods and receved remuneraton. A certfcate on form ZUS Rp-7 should be ssued by the employer or hs / her legal successor based on wage and salary documentaton. If such a documentaton s non-exstent, a certfcate of earnngs may be ssued based on the data contaned n the personal fles of the employee, e.g. n the employment contract, letters of appontment and other letters determnng the remuneraton of a gven person. If the person concerned s not able to obtan the requred certfcates, copes of wage and salary documentaton drawn up by archves or certfed copes drawn up by other nsttutons whch store the documentaton of a gven work establshment or by a prvate document storage company are permssble. Persons submttng to the Canadan nsttuton a clam for a dsablty beneft from ZUS should also append the avalable medcal documentaton and the form ZUS N-11C/KANA- DA flled n by the medcal practtoner n charge of the clamant. Forms for the aforementoned clams are avalable on the ZUS webste as well as on the webste of the Canadan nsttuton Servce Canada, Human Resources and Socal Development Canada After ntatng the procedure the Canadan nsttuton forwards the clam for a Polsh beneft for nvestgaton to the competent Polsh nsttuton,.e. ZUS or KRUS respectvely. The date on whch the clam has been receved by the Canadan nsttuton s bndng on ZUS and KRUS. A person who resdes n Poland may also fle a clam for Polsh and Canadan benefts wth the Canadan nsttuton. In such a stuaton a clam for Polsh benefts wll be nvestgated by ZUS and a clam for benefts awarded under the Canadan legslaton wll be forwarded for nvestgaton to the competent Canadan nsttuton. A person who resdes n Canada and has accumulated only Polsh nsurance perods, should submt hs or her clam for Polsh benefts drectly to the Polsh nsttuton. Such a clam may be also submtted through the Canadan nsttuton, whch wll send t to the competent nsttuton n Poland,.e. ZUS or KRUS. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 15

16 V A person resdng n a thrd country The person concerned who resdes n a thrd country (other than Poland and Canada) must fle the clam for a penson n respect of the perods accumulated n both States wth the competent Polsh or Canadan nsttuton, dependng on whch of these States the clamant has been the most recently covered by socal nsurance. The procedure of flng the clam s as earler descrbed. Where to fle a clam n respect of accdent at work or occupatonal dsease? The clam for a beneft n respect of accdent at work or occupatonal dsease must be submtted drectly to the competent nsttuton, under the prncples lad down n the natonal legslaton appled by ths nsttuton. Ths means that clams for pensons n respect of accdents at work or occupatonal dseases and lump-sum ndemnty payments from ZUS must be fled drectly wth ZUS. However, a clamant who resdes n Canada may also fle hs or her clam through the Canadan nsttuton, whch wll send t to the competent Polsh nsttuton for nvestgaton. Penso n payment by ZUS from the Polsh system to a person resdng n Canada ZUS beneft for an elgble person who resdes n Canada may be transferred, dependng on the nstructons gven to ZUS: q n Poland: to the pensoner s bank account; or to an authorsed person who lves n Poland, or q n Canada n the form of transfer to the pensoner s foregn bank account n that State ths rule also apples to Quebec Provnce. Penson benefts for a person who resdes n Canada are transferred to ther bank accounts n that country by the Frst ZUS Branch n Łódź. An applcaton for penson transfer to Canada may be fled wth the Frst ZUS Branch n Łódź or wth any other ZUS branch whch has awarded or had earler been payng the beneft. In the latter stuaton the case s transmtted to the Frst ZUS Branch n Łódź The Dvson for the Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements. 16 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

17 An applcaton for beneft transfer may be fled on a form prepared by ZUS, the Request for change of address data / surname and f rst name / payment of Polsh benef t / change of bank account for persons resdng abroad, whch s avalable on the ZUS webste. No health nsurance contrbuton to the Natonal Health Fund (NFZ) s deducted from pensons transferred by ZUS to benefcares who resde n Canada, because resdents of Canada are not covered by the health nsurance n Poland. Detaled nformaton n ths regard s avalable at the Polsh 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 [email protected]. Pensons are transferred to benefcares who lve n Canada after the deducton pursuant to the tax legslaton 12 of an advance payment to the personal ncome tax n Poland (n a net amount). Detaled nformaton on personal ncome tax (ncludng the use of approprate methods for avodng double taxaton wth respect to ncome from old-age pensons and other smlar benefts) may be obtaned at the Mnstry of Fnance, Śwętokrzyska 12, Warsaw. Informaton n ths regard may be also obtaned on the followng telephone numbers of Natonal Tax Informaton: nfolne: (+48) (from landlne phones), (+48) (from moble phones or from abroad). 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 Canada s lower than the mnmum old-age penson as envsaged under Polsh legslaton, ZUS may decde on ts payment on a dfferent bass than monthly bass (e.g. on a quarterly bass). If the penson s transferred to Canada, the date of the bank transfer by ZUS to an ntermedary bank s consdered as the date of payment. Impact of Canadan b enefts on the enttlement to and the amount of a penson from ZUS The fact that a person wth an establshed enttlement to a ZUS penson has also acqured a penson from the Canadan socal securty system does not result n a reducton n or suspenson of the rght to a penson from ZUS. 12 The Act of 26 July 1991 on the Personal Income Tax (Journal of Laws of 2012, Text 361, as amended) and the Conventon of 14 May 2012 between Canada and the Republc of Poland for the avodance of double taxaton and the preventon of fscal evason wth respect to taxes on ncome (Journal of Laws of 2013, Text 1371). PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 17

18 Impact of earnngs f rom actvty pursued n Canada on the enttlement to and the amount of a penson receved from ZUS Pensoners are oblged to notfy ZUS of earnngs and other ncomes from actvty carred out both n Poland and abroad, also n Canada, both wth Polsh and foregn employers. The level of such ncomes may affect the due amount of a ZUS penson. If the amount of foregn ncomes exceeds: q 70% of the average monthly earnngs under the Polsh legslaton but s not hgher than 130% of these earnngs the penson s subject to reducton, q 130% of the average monthly earnngs under the 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. 13 Detaled nformaton n ths regard s avalable at ZUS bodes. Impact of contnung employment n Canada 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 employment contnued wthout pror termnaton of the employment relatonshp wth the employer on whose behalf the retred person had been workng mmedately before the acquston of penson rghts, establshed by means of a penson body decson. The mentoned rule also apples to an employment relatonshp establshed wth a Canadan employer. Ths means that the old-age penson clamant must termnate all employment relatonshps, both n Poland and n Canada n order to have hs or her old-age penson pad by ZUS. Otherwse,.e. n the event of contnung employment wth a prevous employer, the rght to a Polsh old-age penson wll be automatcally suspended. The requrement for an employment relatonshp termnaton does not apply where the person concerned: q has started employment already after the grantng of old-age penson rghts; or q has acqured the rght to a partal old-age penson. Example A woman, who s currently workng and lvng n Canada, 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 Canadan company, ZUS wll grant her the rght to an old-age penson but at the same tme wll suspend ts payment. ZUS wll start old-age penson payment on the request of 13 See footnote PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY

19 the person concerned after she has termnated employment and forwarded a certf cate conf rmng termnaton of the employment relatonshp. Oblgatons towards ZUS of pensoners lvng n Canada ZUS pensoners are under the oblgaton to notfy the ZUS body whch s the payer of ther benefts of any crcumstances affectng ther penson enttlement or payment. Ths concerns n partcular changes n personal data (e.g. name, surname) and address data, change n place of resdence, changes n the number of ther bank account. Addtonally, pensoners who have not yet reached the statutory retrement age (except for recpents of partal old-age pensons) are also requred to nform ZUS of any employment or other ganful actvty undertaken, of recevng 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 ther contnued enttlement to beneft. The ZUS body payng benefts to persons who resde n Canada perodcally sends to pensoners a form ttled Certf cate of pensoner s lfe 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 certfed 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 resdng abroad wth new opportuntes of electronc contact wth ZUS and access to many other servces. Settng up an account at PUE provdes access to the data stored n the ndvdual account kept by ZUS, ncludng data on the accumulated ntal captal and the contrbutons pad snce 1999, as well as the amount of funds booked to the sub-account of the nsured person. Users may also fle clams/applcatons and receve responses by electronc means. Telephone nformaton can be obtaned from the ZUS Call Centre (Centrum Obsług Telefoncznej, COT) on the followng numbers: q from Polsh landlne phones, q (+48) from moble phones as well as Polsh and foregn landlne phones. PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY 19

20 The Call Centre provdes explanatons n 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 ([email protected]), chat and Skype (zus_centrum_obslug_tel). COT consultants provde assstance on weekdays from Monday to Frday from 7:00 to 18:00 hours. Detaled nformaton for nsured persons and the necessary model documents are avalable on the webstes and Ho w to obtan more nformaton? Ths leaflet s general n character. More detaled nformaton s avalable at: q the nearest local body of ZUS, q the ZUS webste: q the Frst ZUS Branch n Łódź The Dvson for the Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements (Zamenhofa 2, Łódź), q The Foregn Pensons Department at ZUS Headquarters, playng the role of a lason body n penson ssues subject to coordnaton on the bass of the Agreement wth the Canadan lason body (Senatorska 10, Warszawa, e-mal: [email protected]). Informaton on benefts under the Canadan socal securty system s avalable at: q Internatonal Operatons AB Servce Canada 14 P.O. BX 2710, Man Staton Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4C2 CANADA Fax , q Internatonal Operatons Servce Canada [355 North Rver, Ottawa, Ontaro, K1A 0L4 Canada, phone: , (TTY) from Canada or USA; from other countres]. q the webste: 14 Servce Canada Local Offce, beng the competent nsttuton to nvestgate clams for penson benefts based on the Polsh-Canadan Agreement on socal securty. Warsaw, June 2014 Socal Insurance Insttuton (Foregn Pensons Department) Warszawa, Senatorska 10 Typesettng & Prnt: ZUS, Polgrafa n Warsaw. Edton of 1500 copes. Order No. 1629/14 20 PENSIONS FROM THE SOCIAL INSURANCE INSTITUTION ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY