In this section, you will read about the benefits which you may be granted if you have resigned from work to look after a person with disabilities.

The benefits described are:

• nursing benefit (świadczenie pielęgnacyjne)
• special attendance allowance (specjalny zasiłek opiekuńczy)
• caregiver allowance (zasiłek dla opiekuna) 

Under what circumstances am I entitled to benefits?

Nursing benefit is paid to individuals looking after children with disabilities and compelled to resign from work in order to provide the care. Every caregiver is entitled to this benefit, irrespective of the family's income.

Individuals who register for nursing benefits and have low incomes below the established threshold may also be granted a supplement for the child's education and rehabilitation. Read more on this topic in "Family benefits».

Special attendance allowance is a benefit for those caring for children or adults with disabilities. For this benefit, the size of the income of the family providing the care is taken into account as well as of the individual requiring the support. The income may not exceed a specific amount.

Caregiver allowance is a benefit for those caring for children or adults with disabilities and from 1 July 2013 by virtue of the law have lost their right to the nursing benefit (świadczenie pielęgnacyjne) and not meet the income criterion for special attendance allowance (specjalny zasiłek opiekuńczy).

You can read more on benefits granted to people with disabilities in the "Benefits for long-term care" chapter.

You can read about benefits for workers who have lost the ability to work in the "Disability pensions" chapter.

What conditions need to be met?

Nursing benefit is paid to a child's mother, father or the registered guardian or to another person who has custody, i.e. the obligation to support the child or other relatives.

Nursing benefit is granted when a person in need of care becomes disabled before reaching 18 years of age or while in schooling or in upper education (but not older than 25 years of age).

Furthermore, the child is required to meet one of the following conditions:

• be in possession of a ruling on their disability which indicates the need for permanent or long-term care or for assistance from another person;
• be in possession of a ruling on the severity of the disability.

A ruling on disability is issued by a disability assessment board, which is appointed at social welfare centres.

The benefit is granted without time limit. An exception is a situation in which the disability ruling or assessment on the degree of disability has been issued for a limited time period. In this case, the entitlement to nursing benefits has been set until the final day of the month in which the ruling becomes invalid.

When receiving benefits, the caregiver may not have other sources of income, e.g. collect a pension or other similar benefits.

Special attendance allowance is a benefit for caregivers of children or adults with disabilities. It is awarded to caregivers if they resign from employment or other gainful employment with the aim of providing permanent care to a person who has been legitimised through one of the following rulings:

• by a ruling on the severity of the disability;
• by a ruling on the disability indicating the need for permanent or long-term care or assistance for another person in connection with a severely restricted ability to live an independent existence.

A special attendance allowance is granted when the net aggregate income of the family providing care and the family of the person needing assistance is lower than PLN 764 per person per month.

The special attendance allowance cannot be claimed in combination with other benefits, including pension and nursing benefits.

Caregiver allowance is a benefit for caregivers of children or adults with disabilities. It is awarded to caregivers if they resign from employment or other gainful employment with the aim of providing permanent care to a person who has been legitimised by:

• a decision on the severity of the disability;
• a ruling on the disability indicating the need for permanent or long-term care or assistance for another person in connection with a severely restricted ability to live an independent existence;
• and from 1 July 2013 by virtue of the law have lost their right to the nursing benefit and not meet the income criterion for special attendance allowance.

The benefit is granted without time limit. An exception is a situation in which the disability ruling or assessment on the degree of disability has been issued for a limited time period. In this case, the entitlement to allowance for caregiver has been set until the final day of the month in which the ruling becomes invalid.

The caregiver allowance cannot be claimed in combination with other benefits, including pension and nursing benefits.

What are my entitlements and where can I apply for the benefits?

Nursing benefit

Nursing benefits are paid irrespective of the family income.

People who receive nursing benefits are covered for old-age pension insurance, disability pensions insurance and health insurance.

An application for benefits must be submitted at the regional office of the social welfare centre and in some cases (e.g. in Warsaw) at the district office.

Special attendance allowance

Special attendance allowance is granted when the net aggregate incomes of a family providing care and the family requiring care are less than PLN 764 per person.

In addition, individuals receiving benefits are covered for contributions to health insurance, old-age pension and disability pension insurance.

The application for benefits must be submitted, as in the case of the nursing benefit, at the regional office of the social welfare centre and in some cases (e.g. in Warsaw) at the district office.

The allowance is granted for one year. To extend it for another year, the application for benefit must be resubmitted.

Caregiver allowance is granted regardless of family income.

The level of the caregiver allowance - PLN 620 per month.

In addition, individuals receiving allowance are covered for contributions to health insurance, old-age pension and disability pension insurance. An application for benefits must be submitted at the regional office of the social welfare centre and, in some cases (e.g. in Warsaw) at the district office.

Documents to be completed

• Application form for the right to nursing benefits
• Example of a completed application to determine the right to nursing benefit
• An application form for special attendance allowance
• An application form for allowance for caregiver

Know your rights

The links below set out your rights; they are not European Commission sites and do not reflect its opinions:

• Nursing benefit - description of the application procedure
• Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy - description of nursing benefit
• Special attendance allowance - description of the application procedure
• Caregiver allowance - description of the application procedure

European Commission websites and publications:

• Welfare benefits: your rights abroad as EU residents

Who do I contact?

Ministry of Family and Social Policy - Family Policy Department
ul. Nowogrodzka 1/3/5
00-513 Warsaw
Tel. +48 22 538117230
Email: info@mrips.gov.pl
Internet: www.gov.pl/rodzina