End of 14th retirement. Limit announced

In 2025, the payment of the fourteenth pension, although confirmed by the government, will no longer be apparent to all pensioner in Poland. A key origin is the profitability criterion, which can deprive a large group of seniors of additional support. The “gold for gold” rule remains in force, which means that the amount of the basic benefit will have a direct impact on whether and in what amount the “fourteen” will enter the account. The Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy clearly communicates that the mechanics remains akin to that of the 1920s and 2024s, but expanding pensions make more and more people exceed the threshold of full pay.

For thousands of seniors, that could mean quite a few disappointment. The benefit that many have treated as a permanent autumn cash injection is becoming increasingly elite. It is now worth knowing the rules to avoid a sad surprise in the fall of 2025. The estimated amount of the full ‘fourteen’ is expected to be around PLN 1780 gross, but only those whose monthly pension does not exceed PLN 2900 gross. Any gold above this threshold will reduce the extra benefit.

Key income threshold. Who will receive a full "fourteen" in 2025?

The most crucial information for all pensioners awaiting the 14th retirement in 2025 is the income threshold, which was set at the level of PLN 2900 gross. It is this amount that determines who can number on full witnessing and who will receive it at a reduced amount or will not receive it at all. According to the announcements, the full amount of ‘fourteen’ is to correspond to the lowest pension in force in a given year, which in 2025 is forecast to be around 1780 PLN gross.

So who can sleep peacefully? Only those whose monthly gross pension does not exceed those PLN 2900 will receive the full amount of the additional benefit. This means that if your benefit from ZUS or KRUS is, for example, PLN 2500 gross, your account will receive additional full PLN 1780 gross ‘fourteen’. This strategy is aimed primarily at supporting seniors with the lowest incomes, for whom any additional injection of cash is of large importance in the home budget.

It is worth noting that the threshold of PLN 2900 concerns the full amount of pension benefits collected. For example, if a elder receives a pension from the Social Insurance Institution and a pension from another scheme, both amounts will be summated by the pension authority to establish entitlement to the ‘fourteen’.

The "gold for gold" principle. How will ZUS calculate your witnessing?

The "gold for gold" mechanics is crucial to knowing why many seniors will receive a 14th pension lower than the maximum. This rule is simple, but its financial consequences may be significant. It is that if your basic pension exceeds the gross threshold of PLN 2900, the amount of ‘fourteen’ will be reduced by precisely this surplus.

Let us see this in concrete examples to full realize the system:

• Example 1: Mr. Jan is getting a pension of PLN 3200 gross. Its benefit exceeds the threshold (PLN 2,900) by PLN 300. Consequently, its ‘fourteenth’ will be reduced by this amount. alternatively of full PLN 1780, it will receive: PLN 1780 – PLN 300 = PLN 1480 gross.
• Example 2: Mrs. Maria has a pension. 4000 PLN gross. The surplus above the threshold is PLN 1100 (PLN 4000 – PLN 2900). Her 14th pension will be calculated as follows: PLN 1780 – PLN 1100 = PLN 680 gross.
• Example 3: Mr Krzysztof receives a benefit of PLN 4680 gross. His pension exceeds the threshold by PLN 1780 (PLN 4680 – PLN 2900). In this case, the deduction is equal to the maximum amount of "fourteen" (1780 zł – 1780 zł = 0 zł). This means that Mr. Krzysztof will not receive a 14th pension at all.

According to the above calculations, the limit amount which completely deprives the right to benefit is simply a pension of PLN 4680 gross (PLN 2,900 threshold + PLN 1780 of the maximum "fourteen"). Anyone who receives a benefit equal to or above that amount cannot number on additional money in the fall of 2025. Importantly, the full process is full automated – seniors do not gotta submit any applications or make their own calculations. ZUS will do this for them based on the data it has in the system.

Risk groups. Who's most likely to lose his 14th retirement in 2025?

Although the rules seem clear, there are respective elder groups that are peculiarly susceptible to the failure of the right to fourteenth retirement in 2025. It is worth checking whether you are in 1 of them to avoid disappointment. The recognition of possible problems will already let better planning of the home budget for next year.

Here is simply a list of people who should pay peculiar attention to their rights:

• Persons with a pension exceeding PLN 4680 gross: They're the most apparent group. According to the “gold for gold” mechanism, this is simply a limit that will be zeroed out. It is worth remembering that the yearly valorisation of pensions can make people in 2024 "at contact", by 2025 may already exceed this threshold.
• Seniors receiving respective benefits: The problem may concern persons who are receiving, for example, a pension from the Social Insurance Institution and a pension from KRUS, a household pension or a abroad benefit. ZUS will sum up all these receipts before comparing them with the threshold of PLN 2900. It may turn out that, although no of the individual benefits exceed the limit, their full is.
• Persons with suspended entitlement to benefits: This mainly applies to pensioners who proceed to work and accomplish income exceeding statutory limits. If, at the date of verification of allowances (usually 31 August), the right to a basic pension is suspended, the Social Insurance Institution will besides not pay ‘fourteen’.
• Seniors who will be entitled at the incorrect time: The Act specifies that the right to a 14th pension is granted to persons who on a circumstantial day (in erstwhile years it was 31 August) had a fixed right to the main benefit. If individual retires, for example, on September 1, 2025, they will not receive a "fourteen" for that year.

"Fourteen" is not a guarantee. Why does the government change the rules all year?

Many seniors may ask themselves why the rules for granting 14th retirement are so volatile and uncertain compared to “Thirteen”. The answer lies in the legal structure of both benefits. Thirteenth Pension was entered in the Act as a permanent benefit, guaranteed and paid annually for a minimum pension to all eligible, without an income criterion.

In turn 14th pension has a completely different legal status. It is not a provision guaranteed by a permanent act in its unalterable form. Each year it is the Council of Ministers, by means of a peculiar regulation, which sets out the key parameters:

• Maximum amount of benefit.
• A month's pay.
• The exact daythe right to benefit is established.

This structure gives the government large flexibility in shaping social policy and adapting expenditure to the current budgetary situation. However, this means quite a few uncertainty for elder citizens. Both the amount of ‘fourteen’ and the income threshold may be changed in subsequent years. Therefore, experts advise not to treat this supplement as a certain and permanent component of income, or alternatively as a possible bonus, the amount of which and the payout itself depend on yearly government decisions.

This unpredictability means that seniors should be careful in planning larger expenditures based on the announcements of "fourteen". The safest thing to do is to wait for an authoritative government regulation, which is usually published in the mediate of the year, and then include any additional appropriations in its budget.