Poland’s Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) pays every Polish citizen who reaches the age of 100 a special monthly sum of PLN 6,938.92 gross. By the end of June 2026, 4,262 people were collecting this „honorary pension”, compared with 4,057 at the end of December 2025.
The benefit is known as the honorary retirement benefit but it is not tied to the amount of a regular pension or disability annuity. People who have never received any other money from ZUS can also claim it; the key conditions are Polish citizenship and having turned 100.
The latest data, published at the beginning of August 2026, show that the distribution of centenarians is uneven across the country. The largest group is in Mazowieckie Voivodeship, with 736 beneficiaries. Śląskie follows with 436, and Dolnośląskie with 412; these three regions account for a significant share of all recipients in Poland.
At the opposite end of the ranking, Opolskie has just 75 centenarians drawing the supplement, while Lubuskie has 85. These numbers illustrate the demographic structure and regional diversity of Poland’s population aged 100 or more.
Polish citizens abroad also qualify
Residence in Poland is not required to receive the extra money. According to ZUS, the benefit is available to all Polish citizens who currently live outside the Republic of Poland, as long as they meet the age criterion. The payment is transferred to their accounts in the same way as it is for centenarians living in the country.
The monthly amount is the same for everyone and is not linked to past earnings or the type of pension previously paid. That makes the honorary pension a separate source of income, rather than an addition calculated on top of other entitlements.
Indexation under the 2025 rules
Under the legal framework adopted in 2025, the amount of the honorary benefit is indexed every year using the same indexation indicator as for regular disability and retirement pensions. The new, higher amount becomes valid from March of the following calendar year. In practice, this means the PLN 6,938.92 gross in force now will be replaced by an indexed figure once the next annual adjustment is applied.
ZUS’s figures confirm a slow but systematic rise in the number of centenarians in Poland. Comparing the end of December 2025 with the end of June 2026, the register grew by 205 recipients. The highest concentrations remain in the most populated voivodeships, while the lowest numbers are observed in Opolskie and Lubuskie.
Source: WNP.PL, Photo: Shutterstock
