ZUS (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych, or "Social Insurance Institution") is the Polish government body responsible for citizens' health and pension insurance.
ZUS handles the flow, collection and disbursement of funds, and specifically is responsible for:
- paying pensions to Polish pensioners;
- paying disability benefits;
- paying survivor benefits;
- paying maternity allowance, and so on.
ZUS also pays contributions to the health fund – składki na ubezpieczenie zdrowotne. By paying contributions, you can use NFZ (National Health Fund) services.
NFZ functions
NFZ insurance in Poland provides free medical care. It covers the following services:
- emergency calls;
- diagnosis of illnesses;
- taking tests;
- NFZ insurance in Poland helps with treatment of illness;
- issuing sick leave;
- NFZ funds monitoring during pregnancy and childbirth;
- newborn care;
- NFZ insurance for providing psychological support.
- Also, under NFZ insurance in Poland, you can receive high-quality dental services of any complexity.
Who pays?
The employer pays for the employee, and the client pays for the contractor. That is, people working under an employment contract (Umowa o pracę) and people employed under a civil-law contract (Umowa o dzieło or Umowa zlecenie).
In addition to people employed by Polish businesses and their employers, ZUS is also paid by people running their own businesses. Such entrepreneurs should note that in the future they will receive a Polish pension.
How can you check whether your employer is paying contributions for you?
To do this, simply contact your nearest ZUS office. You can find its address here https://www.zus.pl/.
ZUS contributions: who pays how much?
Social insurance contributions (ZUS contributions, ZUS payments) are paid by both employees and entrepreneurs (for themselves). Despite the overall deduction amounts, due to different collection methods and other conditions, the difference between employees' and entrepreneurs' payments is significant. So we will consider these cases separately, but let's start with the general concepts.
General concepts
Let's start with the general concepts – the basic provisions. For every person, whether an employee (including a foreigner) or an entrepreneur, the following payments must be made to ZUS:
- Pension reserve (Emerytalna) – 19.52%
- Disability reserve (Rentowa) – 8%
- Access to healthcare (Zdrowotna) – 9%
- Sick leave contribution (Chorobowa) – 2.45% (absent in some cases – details below)
- Accident insurance (Wypadkowa) – from 0.67% to 3.33%
- Labour Fund (Fundusz Pracy) – 2.45%
- Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (FGŚP) – 0.10%
First of all, employees shouldn't be alarmed by such large amounts. Not all of these payments – and not all in full – are deducted from their salary.
ZUS insurance, although it entails significant cost, will save your life in critical situations.