ZUS will return the money due to the deceased. Even 29 thousand zlotys. Few people know about it

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) calculated that the sub-accounts of deceased people contain an average of PLN 29,000. This is money that can be recovered from loved ones. Importantly, however, the payment does not occur automatically after the death of the insured person - it is necessary to submit an application.

– The right to inherit is held by persons indicated by the deceased who was a member of the OFE and by those who, although they did not join the OFE, were born after 1968. If the deceased did not submit any instructions regarding inheritance, the funds are included in the estate – explains Iwona Kowalska-Matis, regional spokesperson for the Social Insurance Institution in Lower Silesia.

• Contributions saved in a sub-account or in an OFE may be inherited by the spouse and persons indicated by the deceased
• Half of the funds collected on the sub-account in ZUS and OFE during the period of joint property is transferred to the sub-account and account in OFE of the spouse. The remaining part is divided between the persons indicated by the insured during his/her lifetime
• It is different when the deceased did not submit any instructions concerning inheritance, the funds from the sub-account are part of the estate. - If he was single, then all the money he collected in the OFE and on the sub-account is paid out to the persons indicated during his lifetime or to the statutory heirs - indicates Kowalska-Matis.

The spokeswoman emphasises that persons who are members of OFE, as well as persons who were born after 31 December 1968 and did not join OFE, may during their lifetime both designate persons to inherit and make changes to the beneficiaries and change their percentage share in inheriting the accumulated funds.

Persons who are members of an OFE, even if they have decided to stop paying contributions to the OFE, should report such a change of disposition to the OFE.

The spokeswoman explains that when the deceased has reached retirement age (when all contributions from the OFE account are already on the sub-account in ZUS) or has a sub-account in ZUS and is not a member of OFE, the distribution of funds at the request of the entitled person begins in ZUS. In other cases, in OFE.

- It is therefore worth knowing which OFE our loved one belonged to, because under the current legal situation, ZUS can provide information to the spouse or children of the deceased person regarding their membership in the OFE only on the basis of a final decision on the confirmation of inheritance, or a registered deed of inheritance certification - explains Iwona Kowalska-Matis.

If the division of funds begins in the OFE, then within 14 days of making this division, the open pension fund should inform ZUS about the persons for whose benefit it has divided the funds collected in the OFE account and their share in these funds. Then ZUS will divide the funds recorded in the division sub-account in the same way. It will make a decision within three months.

ZUS emphasizes that in order to receive a payment from the sub-account, you do not need to use intermediaries (companies). You just need to come to ZUS and submit the appropriate application.

ZUS also points out that in the event of the death of a person who was not a member of an OFE and for whom ZUS only maintained a sub-account, ZUS – based on his or her indication – informs the persons entitled to receive the funds accumulated on the sub-account of that deceased person that they may submit an application for payment, even though the regulations do not impose such an obligation on ZUS.

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Prepared by AN, Source: ZUS

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