Pension claim in Poland with insurance in several countries
Short answer: If you were insured in several EU/EEA or agreement countries, file one pension claim in one country, normally your residence country. In Poland that is ZUS, or KRUS for farmers.
If you have worked in Poland and in another country, you may be owed a pension from more than one state. The official Polish returns portal, Powroty, explains how to claim and how to move foreign pensions to Poland. The pages say they reflect the legal state on 8 June 2026 and were published on 10 June 2026. We read them on 19 October 2026. This guide covers people insured in EU or EEA countries and in countries with a bilateral agreement with Poland.
One claim, filed in one country
According to the page, a person insured in more than one EU/EEA state, or in a country that has a bilateral social security agreement with Poland, should file the pension or disability pension claim with the insurance institution of only one country. Normally that is the country of current residence, if the person has insurance periods there.
Filing starts a joint review of your rights in all the countries where you were insured. The date of filing in one country binds the institutions of all countries concerned.
Delaying one country's claim
An EU/EEA insured person can defer the claim in one country. The page gives the example of someone who files with ZUS but has not yet reached the retirement age of another country where they were also insured. The two institutions exchange information, but the country with the deferred claim does not decide it. You should file again there once you reach that country's retirement age.
If you live in Poland
The page says that if you live in Poland and worked both in Poland and in other EU, EFTA, UK or agreement countries, you file the claim with ZUS. Farmers are the exception: for them the competent institution is KRUS. A person living in Poland who has only foreign insurance periods can apply directly to the foreign institution or through ZUS, which then acts as the institution of the place of residence. If you file in your residence country, that institution must forward the claim to the competent institution of each country where you were insured.
* Photos: ZUS buildings in Racibórz (cover, public domain) and Kamienna Góra (body, CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.
What to attach
The page lists documents to add to the claim:
- proof of insurance periods in Poland (not needed for periods after 31 December 1998, because contributions should be recorded on your ZUS account);
- proof of insurance or residence periods abroad in EU or agreement countries;
- information on your foreign insurance number;
- any other evidence supporting the claim, for example medical records for a disability pension;
- for a survivor's pension, the death certificate extract and marriage certificate extract, among other documents.
Moving a foreign pension to Poland
The second Powroty page says pensions earned in an EU member state, an EFTA state or the UK can be transferred to a new place of residence in another member state. Foreign institutions pay the pensions of people living in Poland directly into their accounts. Whether the transfer has costs depends on the paying institution, so ask it. To have a pension transferred, apply to the foreign institution or to ZUS, which passes the request on.
If the paying country has no agreement with Poland, the pension can be paid only under that country's law. The page warns that some countries do not allow pensions to be paid abroad, may pay only into local accounts, or may suspend payment when the person leaves. The agreement countries it lists are Australia, Canada, South Korea, Macedonia, the United States, Ukraine, the former Yugoslav states (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro), Moldova, Quebec, Mongolia, Israel, Turkey and Belarus.
What the sources do not say
The pages give no deadlines, fees, processing times or sample forms. They do not cover how pensions are calculated, nor taxation of foreign pensions in Poland. The agreement list is as printed on the page and may not show every agreement that exists, so check ZUS for your country.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file if I worked in Poland and Germany?
According to Powroty, a person insured in more than one EU state files in one country, normally the country of residence if there are insurance periods there. If you live in Poland and worked in Poland and elsewhere, file with ZUS.
Can my foreign pension be paid to a Polish account?
For EU, EFTA and UK pensions, yes: they can be transferred to the new country of residence. Costs depend on the paying institution.
Does ZUS handle farmers' pensions?
No. The page says KRUS is the competent institution for farmers.
