PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Socal Insurance Insttuton PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Legal Bass for the Coordnaton The agreement on socal securty of 2 Aprl 2008 between the Republc of Poland and the Unted States of Amerca 1 (herenafter the Agreement ) entered nto force on 1 March 2009. The Agreement consttutes a legal bass for coordnaton of penson systems of Poland and the Unted States. Provsons of the Agreement concernng pensons are amed to facltate acquston of penson enttlements and recept of benefts from these states by persons employed (nsured) n the terrtory of Poland and of the Unted States of Amerca. Provsons of the Agreement concernng pensons apply to: Polsh natonals natonals of the Unted States persons not beng natonals of partes to the Agreement. The Agreement apples to persons who have been covered by socal nsurance n Poland and n the Unted States, pursung wdely conceved occupatonal actvty, n partcular as employees and self-employed persons. 1 Journal of Laws of 2009 No. 46, Text 374. PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 1

It also apples to all who apply for pensons as survvors of the above mentoned persons. Whch Penson Insurance Benefts are Covered by the Agreement of 2 Aprl 2008? The provsons of the Agreement are applcable to the followng Polsh penson nsurance benefts awarded by the Socal Insurance Insttuton (ZUS): old-age pensons dsablty pensons survvors pensons pensons n respect of work accdents and occupatonal dseases and lump-sum ndemnty payments from accdent nsurance funeral grants. The Agreement also apples to perodc funded old-age penson and lfe funded old-age penson payable from the resources collected by the Open Penson Fund (OPF). Apart from the aforementoned benefts awarded by ZUS, t s applcable to penson nsurance benefts awarded by the Farmers Socal Insurance Fund (Kasa Rolnczego Ubezpeczena Społecznego, KRUS) from the socal nsurance for farmers. The followng Unted States benefts from the federal socal nsurance program are covered by the Agreement: old-age nsurance benefts dsablty nsurance benefts survvors nsurance benefts lump-sum death payments. However, the Agreement does not apply to Unted States cash benefts n respect of work accdents and occupatonal dseases. Who s the Leaflet Addressed to? The leaflet s addressed to persons who: resde n the terrtory of Poland or of the Unted States and clam penson nsurance benefts from ZUS on the bass of totalzed perods of coverage (employment or nsurance) completed under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, 2 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

resde n the terrtory of the Unted States and clam penson nsurance benefts from ZUS on the bass of perods of coverage (employment or nsurance) completed only under the laws of Poland, resde n the terrtory of the Unted States and are nterested n recevng, n the place of resdence, a penson nsurance beneft that they are enttled to from ZUS. The Prncple of Equal Treatment In accordance wth the prncple of equal treatment, a person who resdes n the terrtory of Poland or of the Unted States, covered by the Agreement, must receve equal treatment wth natonals of the other party to the Agreement n the applcaton of the laws of the other party regardng enttlement to or payment of benefts. It means that dscrmnaton of a Polsh natonal who resdes n the terrtory of Poland and apples for penson nsurance benefts from the Unted States s prohbted. Old-age, Dsablty and Survvors Pensons for Persons who have completed Perods of Coverage under the Laws of Poland and of the Unted States v Establshment of the Penson Enttlement n each State-Party to the Agreement, where the Person Concerned was Insured It s for the laws of Poland and of the Unted States to defne persons elgble for benefts and elgblty requrements. A person employed and covered by socal nsurance n the terrtory of Poland and of 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. It means that persons who satsfy qualfyng condtons n each of these states, may receve pensons from both of them. PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 3

Informaton on elgblty requrements for ZUS pensons, as well as the rules governng 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, Survvors penson, whch are avalable n each ZUS unt. Informaton on elgblty requrements for and rules governng calculaton of perodc funded pensons, payable from the resources of the Open Penson Fund, whch are also covered by the Agreement, may be found n a leaflet ttled: Perodc funded penson payable from the resources of the Open Penson Fund. v Aggregaton of Foregn Perods of Coverage Where a person applyng for a penson under the laws of one of states- -partes to the Agreement does not have suffcent perods of coverage to satsfy the requrements for enttlement to benefts under the laws of that state, the competent nsttuton of the mentoned state also takes nto account (aggregates), for the purpose of establshng enttlement to the penson, perods of coverage completed under the laws of the other party to the Agreement. For example: where a man aged 65 years, born before 1 January 1949, clams an old- -age penson from ZUS, but does not have a 25-year perod of coverage under the laws of Poland (contrbutory and non-contrbutory perod) requred to be awarded the old- -age penson under the Polsh legslaton, ZUS wll take nto account (aggregate) perods of coverage that he has completed under Unted States laws and wll check f after aggregaton the man satsfes the elgblty requrements for the Polsh penson. v Calculaton of the Amount of a Penson Establshed takng nto Account Foregn Perods of Coverage Completed under the Laws of the other Party to the Agreement the so called Pro-Rata Penson Where enttlement to a penson under the laws of a gven party to the Agreement s establshed takng nto account foregn perods of coverage completed under the laws of the other party to the Agreement, the amount of the beneft s calculated n the followng way: frst, a competent nsttuton of the state whch has establshed penson enttlement must determne a theoretcal (full) amount of the beneft whch would be awarded f all perods of coverage were obtaned under the laws of that state, 4 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

subsequently, based on the theoretcal amount, the competent nsttuton must determne the actual amount of the pro-rata beneft based on the rato of perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of the state whch has establshed the enttlement to the sum of all perods of coverage under the laws of both partes to the Agreement. The pro-rata penson, calculated n ths way, s the beneft whch s due to the person concerned. For example, f ZUS has determned an old-age penson of a man born before 1 January 1949 based on perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, n total duraton of 25 years, of whch 15 years under the laws of Poland and 10 years under the laws of the Unted States, the Polsh old-age penson wll be calculated n the followng way: f rst, ZUS wll determne a theoretcal (full) benef t whch would be awarded to the person concerned f all perods of coverage (25 years, of whch 15 years n Poland and 10 years n the USA) were completed under the laws of Poland, subsequently, based on the theoretcal amount, ZUS wll determne the actual amount of pro-rata benef t correspondng to the rato of Polsh perods of coverage to the sum of all perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States; n the descrbed case t wll be 15/25 of the theoretcal amount, because the person concerned has accumulated 15 years of perods of coverage under the laws of Poland, and a total of 25 years of perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States. In effect the person concerned wll be awarded the pro-rata penson determned by ZUS n ths way. The above nformaton regardng determnaton of the pro-rata beneft s not applcable to the so called new old-age penson from ZUS, whch s awarded to persons born after 31 December 1948, and to pensons for survvors after persons elgble to the old-age penson. Amount of such old-age penson s determned based on the amount of contrbutons accumulated on account of the nsured person n ZUS and the amount of the ntal captal determned on the bass of contrbutory and non-contrbutory perods completed under the laws of Poland before 1 January 1999. The mentoned benefts are determned based only on the perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland (wthout consderaton of perods of coverage under Unted States laws). The rules governng pro-rata pensons, based on the rato of perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Po- PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 5

land to the sum of all perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the USA, are not applcable to them. If an old-age penson s granted by ZUS under the new rules to a man born n 1950 who has reached the retrement age of 65 years and has accumulated a 5-year perod of coverage under the laws of Poland, completed from 1997 to 2001, as well as 10-year perod of coverage completed under Unted States laws, ZUS wll determne the amount of the benef t based only on the perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland. The old-age penson awarded to the person concerned under the new rules wll be the quotent resultng from dvdng the calculaton bass (amount of ntal captal after ndexaton and amount of contrbutons pad to the old-age penson nsurance n Poland after ndexaton) by average lfe expectancy 2 for persons n the age equal to the retrement age of the nsured person. Where a person concerned satsf es the requrements for enttlement to the old-age penson under Unted States laws, the US nsttuton wll award the benef t and determne ts amount takng nto account aggregated Polsh and US perods of coverage based on the rato of the duraton of perods of coverage completed under Unted States laws to the duraton of a coverage lfetme as determned n accordance wth Unted States laws. v Calculaton of Amount of a Penson Establshed wthout Consderaton of Foregn Perods of Coverage, Completed under the Laws of the other Party to the Agreement the so called Natonal (Independent) Penson If under the laws of a gven party to the Agreement the rght to penson arses wthout consderaton of foregn perods of coverage accumulated by the person concerned under the laws of the other party to the Agreement, the penson amount wll be based only on perods of coverage accumulated accordng to laws of the state whch has establshed the enttlement to the beneft (natonal penson), wthout consderaton of foregn perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of the other party to the Agreement. However, n ths case the competent nsttuton also determnes penson amount that would be awarded on the bass of totalzed perods of coverage 2 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 ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

completed under the laws of both states (a pro-rata penson), and f t s hgher than the penson amount calculated only on the bass of Polsh perods of coverage (natonal penson) the person concerned wll be awarded the pro-rata penson. Example 1 If the dsablty penson s granted by ZUS to a person who has accumulated a 10-year perod of coverage under the laws of Poland (whch s suff cent to acqure the rght to such penson), but also a 5-year perod of coverage under Unted States laws, ZUS wll determne the benef t n the followng way: on the one hand t wll determne a natonal dsablty penson based only on the perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland, equal to 10 years, on the other hand t wll determne a pro-rata dsablty penson on the bass of totalzed perods of coverage completed under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, equal to 15 years; that s f rst t wll calculate a theoretcal amount of the penson on the bass of totalzed 15-year perod of coverage accumulated under the laws of both partes to the Agreement, and subsequently t wll calculate the pro- -rata penson, correspondng to the rato of perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland to the sum of perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, whch n the descrbed case equals 10/15 of the theoretcal amount, subsequently ZUS wll compare amounts of the natonal dsablty penson and the pro-rata dsablty penson and wll determne the benef t n amount more favorable for the person concerned. Example 2 If an old-age penson s granted to a woman born before 1 January 1949, who has accumulated a 20-year perod of coverage under the laws of Poland (whch s suff cent to acqure the rght to such penson), but also a 4-year perod of coverage under Unted States laws, ZUS wll determne the benef t amount n the followng way: on the one hand t wll determne the natonal old-age penson based only on the perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland, equal to 20 years, on the other hand t wll determne a pro-rata old-age penson on the bass of totalzed perods of coverage completed under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, equal to 24 years; that s f rst t wll calculate a theoretcal (full) amount of the penson on the bass of totalzed 24-year perod of coverage PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 7

accumulated under the laws of both states-partes to the Agreement, and subsequently t wll calculate the pro-rata penson, whch n the descrbed case equals to 20/24 of the theoretcal amount, subsequently ZUS wll compare amounts: of the natonal old-age penson and the pro-rata old-age penson and wll determne the benef t n amount more favorable for the person concerned. Where a person concerned satsf es the requrements for enttlement to the old-age penson under Unted States laws, the US nsttuton wll award the benef t and determne ts amount takng nto account aggregated Polsh and US perods of coverage based on the rato of duraton of the perods of coverage completed under Unted States laws to the duraton of a coverage lfetme as determned n accordance wth Unted States laws. v Determnaton of a Supplement Intended to brng the Penson up to the Polsh Mnmum Penson for Persons Elgble for the Penson from the Socal Insurance Fund, who resde n the Terrtory of Poland but have completed Perods of Coverage under the Laws of Poland and of the Unted States Persons who resde n the terrtory of Poland, recevng pensons from ZUS and from the Unted States, n total amount lower than the mnmum penson under the Polsh legslaton, may be awarded a supplement ntended to brng ther beneft up to the level of statutory mnmum. The rules for determnng the mentoned supplement by ZUS are dfferent for pensons awarded under earler prncples, where both an enttlement to and an amount of the beneft depended on the duraton of perods of coverage, and for old-age pensons under the new rules whch depend on the resources accumulated on the penson account of the nsured person. The supplement to the beneft awarded under the earler rules to brng the beneft up to the level of the Polsh mnmum penson, s granted by ZUS, f the pensoner resdes n the terrtory of Poland and hs or her beneft has been determned n pro-rata amount, based on the rato of perods of coverage accumulated under the Polsh laws to the sum of all perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States. The supplement s equal to a dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh penson and an aggregated amount of the Polsh penson and the old-age or dsablty penson of the Unted States receved by the person concerned. 8 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

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, must be brought up to the level of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson under the condton that the person concerned wll prove the requred nsurance (contrbutory and non-contrbutory) perods under the laws of Poland, equal to 20 years for women and 25 years for men. If a person who resdes n the terrtory of Poland satsfes the requrement of perods of coverage 20 years for women and 25 years for men only after takng nto account perods of coverage accumulated under Unted States laws, the supplement wll amount to: a dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson and an aggregated amount of the Polsh old-age penson and the Unted States old-age or dsablty penson receved by the person concerned. For example, a 60-year old woman, born n 1949, who resdes n the terrtory of Poland, and has accumulated a 10-year perod of coverage under the laws of Poland and also a 12-year perod of coverage under Unted States laws, has been granted by ZUS an old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund under the new rules, determned n amount 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 a total amount of the Polsh and the Unted States penson s lower than the mnmum old-age penson under the Polsh legslaton. The supplement wll amount to a dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson and an aggregated amount of the Polsh and the US old-age penson receved by the person concerned. If a person concerned, who resdes n the terrtory of Poland, has accumulated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, of total duraton of at least 20 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 n amount lower than the mnmum Polsh old-age penson, and f ths person s also enttled to a perodc funded penson 3, a supplement to brng the beneft up to the level of the Polsh mnmum old-age penson wll be equal to a dfference between the amount of the mnmum Polsh old-age penson and an aggregated amount of the new old-age penson from the Socal Insurance Fund, perodc funded penson and the US old-age or dsablty penson receved by the person concerned. 3 See: ZUS leaflet ttled: Perodc funded penson, payable from the resources of the Open Penson Fund, ZUS, Warszawa 2009. PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 9

v The Bass for Calculatng the Old-Age Penson under the Old Rules or the Dsablty Penson for Persons who have accumulated apart from the Polsh Perods of Coverage also Perods of Coverage under Unted States Laws An amount of the old-age penson under the so called old rules 4 or an amount of the dsablty penson for persons who have accumulated apart from the Polsh perods of coverage also perods of coverage under Unted States laws s calculated on the bass of an 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 a penson clam. The mentoned 10 calendar years are determned wthout consderaton of years when the person concerned was covered (for the full year) by nsurance under Unted States laws. If wthn the perod of 20 calendar years drectly precedng the year when the person concerned fled a penson clam, the mentoned person had not been covered by nsurance under the laws of Poland, an amount of the penson wll be based on an average bass for 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 had joned nsurance n the Unted States for the frst tme. On the request of the person concerned an amount of the penson may be also based on an average bass for assessment of a contrbuton to socal nsurance, pursuant to the 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 survvors after persons whose rght to the old-age penson under the old rules or to the 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 be elgble. 4 Ths rule apples to persons born before 1 January 1949 and certan persons born after 31 December 1948 but before 1 January 1969. 10 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

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 Unted States Laws The old-age penson under the new rules 5 s the quotent resultng from dvdng the calculaton bass by average lfe expectancy 6 for persons n the age equal to the retrement age of the clamant. The calculaton bass of old-age penson under the new rules s calculated on the bass of amount of contrbutons pad to the old-age penson nsurance after ndexaton, and the amount of the ndexed ntal captal. The calculaton bass of penson for survvors after persons whose rght to the old-age penson has been establshed before ther death under the new rules or who have satsfed the requrements to be granted such beneft, are based on the bass for calculatng the beneft for whch the deceased person was or could be elgble. Perods of coverage accumulated under Unted States laws 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 after persons whose rght to the old-age penson has been establshed before ther death under the new rules or who have satsfed the requrements to be granted such beneft. v Mnmum Perod of Coverage If a perod of coverage under the Polsh legslaton s shorter than 1 year and based on that perod there wll be no elgblty for Polsh benefts, ZUS s not under oblgaton to award a penson takng nto account the perod of coverage completed under Unted States laws. Thus, f for example an employment (nsurance) perod of a clamant for the dsablty penson s shorter than 1 year (not suff cent to acqure the rght to the Polsh benef t), and the clamant has completed 15 years of perods of coverage under Unted States laws, ZUS s not under oblgaton to award the Polsh penson takng nto account the perod of coverage completed under US laws. 5 Ths rule apples to persons born after 31 December 1948. 6 See footnote 2. PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 11

And f the perod of coverage accumulated under Unted States laws s shorter than sx quarters, thus not creatng the rght to the US penson, the competent nsttuton of the Unted States s not under oblgaton to grant the beneft takng nto account the perod of coverage under the laws of Poland. Such perod of coverage completed under Unted States laws 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 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. Thus, f a woman born before 1 January 1949, applyng for 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 Unted States laws equal to 5 quarters (that s 1 year and 3 months), not suff cent to acqure the rght to the benef t of the Unted States, n order to establsh the rght to the Polsh old-age penson, ZUS wll have to take nto account also a short perod of coverage under Unted States laws and wll calculate a pro-rata benef t, correspondng to the rato of perods of coverage accumulated under the laws of Poland (19 years and 6 months, that s 234 months) to the sum of perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States (20 years and 9 months, that s 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 Polsh competent nsttuton only when the nsured person was subject to the Polsh legslaton at the moment of njury or n the perod of performng work, as a result of whch the occupatonal dsease was contracted. 12 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

US benefts n respect of accdents at work and occupatonal dseases are not covered by the Agreement. Funeral grant The rght to the Polsh funeral grant s establshed and the grant s payable by the Socal Insurance Insttuton, applyng the Polsh legslaton. Penson for Persons who have accumulated only Polsh Perods of Coverage and resde n the Terrtory of the Unted States Where a penson clamant has accumulated only perods of coverage under the Polsh legslaton but resdes n the terrtory of the Unted States, penson enttlement s establshed only by the Polsh competent nsttuton, that s an nsttuton oblged to examne a gven applcaton n Poland (ZUS or KRUS respectvely). The mentoned person may be granted the penson under the laws of Poland f he or she satsfes the requrements under these laws. Pursuant to the Agreement such penson awarded under the laws of Poland may be transferred to place of resdence of the person concerned n the terrtory of the Unted States. Where to fle a Penson Clam? A person who has accumulated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States should fle hs or her applcaton for a penson wth the nsurance nsttuton of one of states-partes to the Agreement. It means that t s not necessary to fle a separate applcaton n each state. PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 13

Such applcaton automatcally trggers off the procedure of penson enttlements examnaton n both states-partes to the Agreement, where the person concerned was covered by nsurance, and the date of the applcaton s bndng upon the nsttutons of both states, unless the person concerned wants to receve a beneft only from one state and wll notfy ths fact to the nsttuton wth whch the clam s fled. 1 A person concerned who resdes n the terrtory of Poland and has accumulated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, may fle hs or her applcaton for a penson wth the Polsh nsttuton (ZUS or KRUS). The mentoned applcaton may be also fled wth the US nsttuton Federal Benefts Unt of the Embassy of the Unted States of Amerca n Warsaw, whch n turn wll transmt t to the competent Polsh nsttuton and at the same tme wll ntate the procedure of establshng benefts of the Unted States. 1 A person concerned who resdes n the terrtory of the Unted States and has accumulated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, may fle hs or her applcaton for a penson wth the Unted States 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 transmt the applcaton for a Polsh penson to the Polsh nsttuton (ZUS or KRUS respectvely). 1 A person concerned who resdes n the terrtory of the Unted States and has accumulated perods of coverage only under the laws of Poland, may fle an applcaton for a penson drectly wth the Polsh nsttuton competent n hs or her case, whch wll examne the penson clam n Poland (ZUS or KRUS respectvely). The applcaton may be also fled through the Unted States nsurance nsttuton whch wll send t to the competent Polsh nsttuton. The date of flng the applcaton wth the Unted States nsttuton wll be n ths case bndng upon the Polsh nsttuton. 1 A person concerned who resdes n the terrtory of the thrd state (other than Poland and the Unted States) and has accumulated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the USA, may fle an applcaton for a penson wth the competent Polsh or US nsttuton. 14 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

Where a penson clam s fled wth the Unted States nsttuton, the sad nsttuton s oblged nter ala to complete the applcaton for a penson to be awarded under the Polsh legslaton and to transmt t to the competent nsttuton n Poland. Where the person concerned who resdes n the terrtory of the Unted States fles an applcaton for a penson pursuant to the Polsh legslaton, t s necessary to dentfy a Polsh competent nsttuton n hs or her case. The penson clam s examned by ZUS f the person concerned was employed or self-employed (ran a busness outsde agrculture) n the terrtory of Poland. But ZUS s not always competent to examne the applcaton. It s not competent to examne 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 competent. However, ZUS examnes applcatons for pensons fled by persons who have accumulated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland as persons employed and self-employed outsde agrculture and as farmers, f the last Polsh perod was the perod of nsurance as a person employed or self-employed outsde agrculture. If ZUS s recognzed as the competent nsttuton, penson enttlement s establshed by a local ZUS body desgnated to deal wth penson ssues subject to coordnaton pursuant to the Polsh-US Agreement: I ZUS Branch n Warsaw Dvson for Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements (see: p. 20). A person who resdes n the terrtory of Poland and has accumulated aggregated perods of coverage under the laws of Poland and of the Unted States, may fle hs or her applcaton for a penson drectly wth the above-mentoned ZUS body, or through the nearest ZUS body n hs or her place of resdence. How to draw up a Penson Clam addressed to ZUS? If the penson clam s fled wth ZUS, t must be drawn up pursuant to the Polsh legslaton. It may be fled on a relevant form: PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 15

ZUS Rp-1E (Applcaton for an old-age penson), ZUS Rp-1R (Applcaton for a dsablty penson), ZUS Rp-2 (Applcaton for a survvors penson). The followng documents should be appended to the applcaton: a questonnare on contrbutory and non-contrbutory perods (ZUS Rp-6), documents justfyng the rght to Polsh benefts and enablng calculaton of ther amount (such as: nsurance cards, employment certfcates, certfcates ZUS Rp-7, excerpts of regstry offce records, relevant medcal documentaton), documents provng the Unted States socal securty number and other nformaton for establshng the beneft of the Unted States; for the purposes of the US beneft a person concerned should complete an auxlary form WZO-PL-1. Forms of applcatons and questonnares as well as an auxlary form WZO-PL-1 are avalable n ZUS unts and at the webste of the Socal Insurance Insttuton. Persons resdng n the terrtory of the Unted States who have accumulated Polsh perods of coverage and fle an applcaton for the Polsh penson n a local body of the Socal Securty Admnstraton, must complete a relevant form of applcaton for the Polsh beneft: PL/USA 4 (Request for Polsh retrement annuty for nablty to work), PL/USA 5 (Request for Polsh famly penson). The applcaton should be accompaned wth documents justfyng the rght to Polsh benefts and enablng calculaton of ther amount (such as: nsurance cards, employment certfcates, certfcates ZUS Rp-7, excerpts of regstry offce records, and regardng a beneft whose award s subject to a condton of certfed ncapacty for work relevant medcal documentaton and medcal evaluaton on 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. It may be fled on form ZUS Z-12 (Applcaton for payment of the funeral grant). Persons who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States and fle an applcaton for funeral grant to be pad by ZUS wth a local body of the Socal Securty Admnstraton, must complete form PL/USA 10 (Request of payment of Polsh bural allowance). 16 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

Appeals aganst ZUS Decsons n Penson Issues fled by Persons who resde n the Terrtory of the Unted States Appeals aganst ZUS decsons n penson ssues may be fled wth a competent Court for Labor and Socal Insurance through ZUS penson body whch has ssued a decson, wthn one month from the day of recept of the decson. Persons who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States may fle an appeal aganst ZUS decson wthn the above mentoned tme lmt also through the Unted States socal securty nsttuton, whch wll transmt the appeal to a competent ZUS unt. Penson Transfer by ZUS to a Person who resdes n the Terrtory of the Unted States ZUS beneft for an elgble person who resdes n the terrtory of the Unted States may be pad, dependng on nstructons gven to ZUS: n Poland to bank account of the pensoner or to an authorzed person who resdes n the terrtory of Poland, or n the Unted States to pensoner s bank account n the Unted States. A penson awarded by ZUS may be transferred to the person resdng n the terrtory of the Unted States to hs or her place of resdence. An applcaton for penson transfer to the Unted States may be fled wth ZUS branch whch has awarded or has been earler payng the beneft. The case s transmtted to I ZUS Branch n Warsaw Dvson for Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements, whch wll admnster the penson payment. An applcaton for penson transfer may be also fled wth I ZUS Branch n Warsaw. A penson s payable on a monthly bass on a day fxed n ZUS decson as the date of beneft s payment. If the penson amount transferred to the Unted States s lower than the mnmum penson under the Polsh legslaton, ts payment may be carred out on other than monthly bass (e.g. on a quarterly bass). PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 17

If the penson s transferred to the Unted States, the date of bank transfer s consdered as the date of payment. Pensons are transferred to benefcares who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States after deducton pursuant to the tax legslaton of advance payment to the personal ncome tax n Poland (n net amount). More detaled nformaton on taxes mposed on Polsh pensons payable to persons who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States and on the applcablty of the Polsh-US conventon for the avodance of double taxaton s avalable n a competent treasury offce. No health nsurance contrbuton to the Natonal Health Fund s mposed on pensons transferred by ZUS to benefcares who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States. More detaled nformaton n ths regard s avalable n a competent NHF branch or n NHF headquarters. Impact of US Benefts on the Enttlement to and Amount of a Penson receved from ZUS The fact that a person wth establshed enttlement to ZUS penson has also acqured the penson from the Unted States does not result n reducton n or suspenson of the rght to penson from ZUS. Impact of earnngs from actvty carred out n the terrtory of the Unted States on the enttlement to and amount of the penson receved from ZUS Pensoners are oblged to notfy ZUS of earnngs and other ncomes from actvty carred out abroad, for example n the terrtory of the Unted States. The level of such ncomes may affect the due amount of ZUS penson. If the amount of foregn ncomes exceeds: 70% of average monthly earnng under the Polsh legslaton but s not hgher than 130% of ths earnng the penson s subject to reducton, 18 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA

130% of average monthly earnng under the Polsh legslaton the penson s suspended. These rules are not applcable to pensoners who have reached the statutory retrement age: 60 years for women, 65 years for men. Pensoners Oblgatons towards ZUS Pensoners are under oblgaton to notfy 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 place of resdence, changes n a number of bank account, undertakng employment or other ganful actvty, the fact of recevng ncome resultng n beneft reducton or suspenson (applcable both to ncome from actvty carred out n the terrtory of Poland and abroad). ZUS pensoners are under oblgaton on demand of the penson body to certfy wth ther own sgnature further enttlement to beneft. ZUS body payng pensons to benefcares who resde n the terrtory of the Unted States perodcally sends 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 hm/herself. If the pensoner s 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 n a Polsh dplomatc or consular post. How to obtan more Informaton? Ths leaflet has a general character. More detaled nformaton s avalable at: the nearest local body of ZUS, ZUS webste: www.zus.pl, PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA 19

I ZUS Branch n Warsaw Dvson for Implementaton of Internatonal Agreements (Kasprowcza 151, 01-949 Warszawa, tel.: 0-048 22 569-35-93, 569-36-04, 569-36-13, 569-36-50, 569-36-51, fax: 0-048 22,827-53-71), Foregn Pensons Department n ZUS Headquarters, playng the role of the lason nsttuton n penson ssues subject to coordnaton under the Agreement, whch cooperates wth the lason nsttuton of the Unted States (Senatorska 10, 00-082 Warszawa, tel.: 0-048 22 826-05-53, e-mal: drz@zus.pl). Informaton on US benefts may be obtaned from: Federal Benefts Unt of the Embassy of the Unted States of Amerca n Warsaw (Pękna 12, 00-539 Warszawa, tel.: 0-048 22 504-21-12), Offce of Internatonal Operatons (OIO) n Baltmore (P.O. Box 17775, Baltmore, Maryland, 21235-7049, www.ssa.gov). Warsaw, March 2009 Socal Insurance Insttuton (Foregn Pensons Department) 00-082 Warsaw, 10 Senatorska street Typesettng and prnt: ZUS Publshng n Warsaw. Edton of 1000 copes. Order No 1230/09. 20 PENSIONS FROM ZUS ESTABLISHED ON THE BASIS OF THE AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY BETWEEN POLAND AND THE USA