Coordination of social security schemes means legal rules supplementing the domestic law of the country concerned, aimed at protecting persons working abroad against the loss of acquired or future social security rights. By ensuring the harmonious coexistence of the social security schemes of individual countries, these rules protect the interests of persons who move to take up employment and have completed periods of employment in different countries.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COORDINATION

• the principle of equal treatment – aimed at protecting persons moving within the European Union against any form of discrimination in the application of social security provisions,

• the principle of unity of applicable legislation – prevents cases where persons working in one or more countries are not covered by social security in any of these countries or are covered by social security in several countries at the same time;

• the principle of protection of rights acquired or in the process of being acquired – aimed at ensuring that benefits awarded in one of the EU Member States are provided to the eligible person regardless of his or her place of residence;

• the principle of aggregation of periods of insurance – makes it possible to take periods of insurance or other equivalent periods completed in several Member States into account when determining the right to social security benefits (does not apply to the determination of the right to military pension benefits).

THE PRINCIPLES OF COORDINATION APPLY TO:

• nationals of a Member State, stateless persons and refugees residing in a Member State who are or were subject to the legislation of one or more Member States, and members of their families;

• the survivors of deceased persons who were subject to the legislation of one or more Member States, irrespective of the nationality of these persons, provided that the survivors are nationals of one of the Member States or stateless persons or refugees residing in one of the Member States.

The Military Pension Office in Warsaw is responsible for coordination in the following branches of social security:

• invalidity benefits,

• old-age benefits,

• survivors’ pensions,

• death grants.

The coordination rules apply to general and special social security schemes. In accordance with the coordination rules, ‘special scheme for civil servants’ means any social security scheme which is different from the general social security scheme applicable to employed persons in the Member State concerned and to which all, or certain categories of, civil servants or persons treated as such are directly subject.

According to this definition, civil servants within the meaning of the coordination rules include professional soldiers, officials, judges and public prosecutors.This term, however, does not apply to civil servants within the meaning of Polish legislation.

So if you are or were a professional soldier, reside or work in an EU country, an EFTA country or Switzerland, and would thus like to learn more about how the principles of coordination apply to you, you should contact the Military Pension Office in Warsaw (wbewarszawa.wp.mil.pl, email: wbewarszawa@ron.mil.pl).

Below are some definitions which may be useful.

PERMANENT RESIDENCE

The term ‘permanent address – permanent residence’ does not always relate to the place of registered residence. The centre of vital interests of the recipient of benefits, i.e. the place of residence, the place of work or the place of residence of the immediate family, is of key importance here. A foreign residential address must be registered if pension benefits are to be paid in accordance with international legal standards on taxes and health insurance.

PAYMENT OF BENEFITS

In accordance with applicable laws, the WBE in Warsaw transfers pension benefits to the following countries of residence: EU countries, EFTA countries and Switzerland, and countries with which Poland has concluded bilateral social security agreements. If the permanent address is in a country other than those listed above, benefits may be paid to the personal account of the old-age pensioner / disability pensioner in Poland or to an authorised person residing in Poland.

WORK ABROAD

Persons who are gainfully employed outside Poland and receive military old-age pensions or disability pensions are subject to the same provisions on the reduction and suspension of benefits as persons working in Poland. Thus, if revenue is generated from activities subject to compulsory social insurance, i.e. employment, other gainful activities or non-agricultural activities, the competent pension authority must immediately be notified of the commencement of such activities, of the amount of revenue generated and of any change in this amount. In order to account for benefits, revenues generated in EU countries, EFTA countries and Switzerland are converted at the exchange rate announced by the European Central Bank, while revenues generated in other countries are converted at the exchange rate announced by the National Bank of Poland.

COUNTING PERIODS OF EMPLOYMENT AS PENSIONABLE SERVICE

Periods of employment completed outside Poland for which pension contributions have been paid under the social security scheme of the country concerned are not counted as pensionable military service. In such a case, the recipient of benefits will be entitled to claim an old-age pension/disability pension from a foreign insurance institution. An exception is employment in the former German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. If a person who resides in Poland and is entitled to military pension benefits has completed periods of insurance in the former GDR, these periods should be taken into account and treated as if they were periods of insurance completed in Poland. Periods of insurance completed in the FRG to which the Polish-German agreement of 8 December 1990 applies should also be treated as periods of insurance completed in Poland, provided that the person concerned resides in Poland or moved his or her place of residence from Germany to Poland before 1 January 1991. Persons who currently reside in Poland and have completed periods of insurance in EU countries, EFTA countries and Switzerland apply for foreign benefits through the WBE in Warsaw.

CHECKING WHETHER PERSONS RESIDING WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION CONTINUE TO BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE OLD-AGE PENSIONS OR DISABILITY PENSIONS

In accordance with applicable laws, recipients of benefits are required to confirm with their signature that they continue to be entitled to receive the benefits provided for in the Pensions Act at the request of the military pension authority. Old-age pensioners/disability pensioners residing abroad confirm that they continue to be entitled to receive the benefits by correctly completing and signing ‘Life certificate’ forms. If an old-age pensioner or a disability pensioner is unable to sign the form in question, the duly authorised person who actually cares for that person may confirm with his or her signature that the pensioner continues to be entitled to receive the benefits. The authenticity of the signature affixed to the form by the recipient of the benefits or the authorised person must be confirmed by the competent office or the person authorised to do so in the country of residence of the old-age pensioner / disability pensioner or at a Polish diplomatic mission. If the above form is not submitted within the time limit set by the WBE, payment of the benefit will be suspended until the required document is sent.

NAME OF THE ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT OF THE INFORMATION

The Military Pension Office (Wojskowe Biuro Emerytalne) 

email: wbewarszawa.unia@ron.mil.pl