Financing social benefits as a part of the social insurance system in Poland is guaranteed by the treasury funds and it is financed by the employers and employees contributions. The contributions system is characterized by three fundamental features: it is compulsory, appropriate and payable. The main institution in Poland that is responsible for the insurance plan is Social Insurance Company [Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych] (official Polish abbreviation: ZUS). ZUS is a state-run regulatory institution, carrying out the social insurance tasks in the country: www.zus.pl
Benefits guaranteed by ZUS include:
- Social benefits for people who achieved the retirement age (pension plan)
- Social benefits related to money income loss associated with the risk of disability, inability to work or the death of the family breadwinner (retirement annuity)
- Social benefits related to inability to work as the effect of illness or the motherhood (sickness insurance)
- Social benefits aimed at protecting the insured person from the results of ill-fated accidents at work as well as from industrial diseases (accident insurance)
There are also other essential public institutions in the Polish insurance system, such as:
- The National Health Fund (Official Polish abbreviation: NFZ] that finances health benefits for insured people and refunds medicines; such refunds are done from the compulsory contributions of the health insurance. Information about the National Health Fund and its provincial branches can be found at: www.nfz.gov.pl
- The Labour Fund that provides and finances the labour market programs and activities that aim at the professional activation of unemployed and their return on the labour market, such as: costs of the training of the employed and the unemployed, unemployment benefits, scholarships and trainings for unemployed, pre-retirement benefits, the labour market research, activity of district and provincial employment offices, emergency works, funds to start a business activity, costs of the legal aid, costs of consultation, etc.
Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund that guarantees the payment of benefits in the situation of the employer’s insolvency to the employees: www.fgsp.gov.pl
