ZUS: Poles receive their pension for an average of 17 years and 6 months

The retirement age in Poland is 60 for women and 65 for men. The average pension in August 2026 was 4,535.94 zł gross. According to data from ZUS (the Social Insurance Institution) obtained by Interia, in 2025 the average period of receiving a pension was 17 years and 6 months; women receive it for almost 5 years longer than men on average.

GUS (Statistics Poland) updates its life expectancy forecast every year, and ZUS uses it to calculate pensions by dividing the accumulated funds by the expected number of months. According to the latest forecast, a 60-year-old has on average 268.9 months ahead (more than 22 years), and a 65-year-old 222.7 months (about 18.5 years).

Actual ZUS data show that pensions are received for less time than the GUS forecasts imply: not everyone lives to retirement age, and each person chooses the moment of retirement themselves.