Poland offers an honorary monthly benefit for those who reach 100 years of age. The payment is offered to any Polish citizen achieving this milestone, including but certainly not limited to Holocaust survivors living abroad. Currently, we are colloquially referring to this pension as the “centenarian pension.”
To this end, Polish Pension Help has partnered with Polaron, a company which assists people in obtaining European citizenship. Polaron has generously donated their time, experience, skills, and efforts to help survivors who are reaching 100 years of age to obtain the citizenship documents necessary to apply for this pension.
To learn more about this benefit, please see the frequently asked questions (FAQs) below:
Updated October 9, 2024
The amount of the pension depends upon when the applicant turned 100 years old. Please consult the chart below to determine how much the amount will be in your particular case:
*Please note that these amounts are based upon the conversion rate as of October 9, 2024. To determine how much the amount will be on today’s date or in a different currency than USD, please consult a reliable currency conversion application such as Oanda or Xe.
One needs only to be a Polish citizen, living in Poland or abroad.
Yes. The centenarian pension is for those Polish citizens who reach 100 years, whether or not they experienced oppression during the war.
No. You may have been a Polish citizen at birth, but you may have lost it through several life events, such as marrying someone not born in Poland or becoming a citizen of a foreign country, since Poland does not accept dual citizenship. However, it is possible to obtain Polish citizenship again by proving that one or both of one’s parents were Polish citizens. The laws can be complex. After the submission of an initial application, we will then forward it to our partner agency, Polaron, who will evaluate the case and determine if and how the applicant will be able to regain Polish citizenship.
The process is usually long. We are currently working with the involved institutions in Poland to further streamline the process, but as of September, 2024, it takes between 8 months and one year, with an average processing time of 9 months. This is why we suggest eligible applicants start the process upon turning 99 years old.
Yes, you can do this on your own. The centenarian pension is offered through the Polish government, and so of course an application can be lodged directly with ZUS, Poland’s national social insurance institution. The primary obstacle is establishing citizenship (see point 4 above), which is the bulk of the process with which we assist. However, if an applicant wishes to apply for the pension without our assistance, he or she is certainly allowed to do so, and we are still happy to answer any questions about the process.
There is no cost for Holocaust survivors. However, since there are costs of approximately $1,400 USD involved in research and lodging the application in Poland, we do request that if an applicant is approved for the pension, then he or she please remit the first month’s payment to us to cover our expenses. However, if for any reason either the applicant or his estate does not receive the payment, then neither party is responsible for paying us back.
Polish citizens who are not Holocaust survivors who wish to apply can contact Polaron for assistance.
You can start by completing a short form here.
As of this date, we have assisted 8 applicants with obtaining the centenarian pension. No applicant has been denied, but 2 applicants passed away before they were approved. As of this date, we are working on 6 cases for applicants between the ages of 99 and 105 years old.
In the beginning of the process, the applicant or his representative (family member, social worker, etc.) will be asked to send documents such as a copy of a naturalization certificate, identification card or passport, marriage record, birth record (if extant), etc. Additionally, the applicant will have to sign several copies of letters of authority (LoAs) to give Polaron permission to do research and submit documents on the applicant’s behalf to Polish institutions. All this is to say, there will be some work required on the applicant’s side in the first month or two.