It is addressed at persons, who brought up at least four children and for this reason they could not have started professional work or had to resign therefrom. Today, those persons live in poverty, as they have no right to benefits, sometimes even at the minimal level. The parental supplementary benefit Mother 4+ will ensure them with basic means of subsistence. Over 801 million zloty was reserved for this benefit in the state budget for 2019. The institutions implementing this programme are the Polish Social Insurance Institution and the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (Kasa Rolniczego Ubezpieczenia Społecznego).

 “Many years of working at home, to the benefit of the family, were not hitherto connected with any guarantees of security for the old age in a form of e.g. benefits. Therefore, I believe that the decision of a Mother of a Father to invest their whole life energy into their family and raising children was extremely difficult for them to make, as it entailed, in a perspective, a possibility of living in poverty at the old age. However, those persons took this decision, perhaps conditioned with the economic situation, force majeure, a lack of support from family or child’s illness.” - says the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Elżbieta Rafalska.

Moreover, Minister Elżbieta Rafalska adds: “Let us remember that returning to work, after raising children and in their best years, has not always been possible – even if we wanted to. It is obvious that all of us age and with time we are less and less fit. Therefore, I admire those persons for such a decision - for such great courage.”

Who is the Mother 4+ programme aimed at?

The parental supplementary benefit can be granted to a mother, who gave birth and brought up at least four children and in case of the child mother’s death or abandoning children by the mother – to father, who brought up at least four children.

The Mother 4+ programme is the first of these types of programmes which gives a lot of value to many years of everyday work to the benefit of family and bringing up children and answers the social need growing over the years. Thanks to Mother 4+, those persons will not be left alone when old.” – summarises Minister Elżbieta Rafalska.

The benefit will be able to be applied for by persons, who have no necessary means of subsistence and reached the retirement pension age. In case of women it is 60 years and men – 65 years. The parental supplementary benefit will be vested solely in persons living in Poland. Acquiring the right to the benefit will not be related to prior payment of social insurance contributions.

How to obtain this benefit and what will be its amount?

As of 1 March, upon entry into force of the new provisions, the persons fulfilling the criteria can apply to the President of the Polish Social Insurance Institution or the President of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (Kasa Rolniczego Ubezpieczenia Społecznego) in order to obtain the right to the benefit. In case the interested person has already been receiving a benefit lower than the lowest retirement pension, the parental benefit will supplement the received benefit up to the amount of the lowest retirement pension (as of 1 March 2019 - PLN 1,100). Whereas, in the case of a person with no right to any benefit the amount of the parental supplementary benefit will be equal to this amount.

It is estimated that approx. 65 thousand persons, who today have no right to retirement pension or pension and 20.8 thousand persons who receive benefits below the level of the lowest retirement pension, will benefit from the new provisions. 

The parental supplementary benefit will be indexed annually.