Retirement work is an unpleasant necessity for many retirees, as the benefits from ZUS are lower and lower each year. It is worth knowing how to work in retirement and how much you can earn so that ZUS does not reduce or suspend the payment of the benefit.

Some pensioners work because they cannot imagine resignation from their current professional activity. Others work because reality forces them to do so - the retirement they receive is barely enough to meet their basic needs. This applies especially to people who have retired using the option provided by the law lowering the retirement age (in 2022 it was as many as 400,000 people).

Pensioners also work because each additional year of full-time work - even in retirement - means that their benefit will increase over time, and this is due to the fact that pension contributions are collected on the salary paid to full-time working pensioners , having an impact on the final amount of the pension.

Contents :

  1. Retired work: for whom?
  2. Retired work: benefits
  3. Retired job: how much can you earn?
  4. Retired job: how to find?
  5. Retired work: not necessarily full-time

Retired work: for whom?

A person who has reached retirement age and wants to continue working has two options. He may continue to work in the current workplace and suspend his retirement or retire and continue working.

If he chooses the former, he will only receive his salary. However, when she decides that the latter solution, i.e. the simultaneous collection of payment for work and pensions, is more profitable, she will first have to obtainretirement benefit .

For this purpose, after submitting an application for establishing an old-age pension and receiving a relevant decision from the Social Insurance Institution, you have to quit your job even for one day, and then re-hire, either with the same employer under identical conditions, or in a different company. Then you can draw both a pension and a salary at the same time.

It is worth knowing that pension and disability pension contributions are collected only on the salary: if the pensioner is self-employed, he does not pay such contributions.

Retired work: benefits

What are the advantages of working in retirement?Financial - it is obvious and no one questions them, especially that when ZUS contributions are paid on the salary of a working pensioner, after resigning from work, you can apply to ZUS for a recalculation of capital and contributions, resulting in a higher benefit. But these are not the only benefits.

Even those retirees who expected that they would "finally rest" in retirement and have more time for their grandchildren or to make their dreams come true, often face the problem: what to do with excess free time, where to find company? And where to get the money to make your dreams come true? Sometimes a question also arises: do I still need me for something else?

Such dilemmas are effectively treated by work during retirement, which provides not only the much-needed injection of cash, but also everyday contact with people, and often a sense of fulfillment.

Finally - retirees who decide to work are usually in better physical condition than their peers who are just resting, because their daily work duties provide them with the necessary amount of exercise and exercise.

Retired job: how much can you earn?

And is working in retirement profitable? Contrary to appearances, this question is not without sense: it all depends on the age of the pensioner and the benefit he / she benefits from. There are situations in which the Social Insurance Institution may reduce the benefit of a working pensioner or even temporarily suspend the payment of the old-age pension.

Pensioners who have reached the statutory statutory retirement age(currently 60 for women and 65 for men) andare en titled to a retirement pension, as well aspeople who are en titled to a partial pension , canearn unlimited extra money- according to the law, they are en titled to a retirement pension, and salary (regardless of its amount). They can earn in retirement without any earnings limit when they started working after the pension was granted. However, the benefit will be suspended (regardless of the amount of earnings) when pensioners continue to work in the same place as before retirement without terminating their employment for even one day.

No limit they can also earn extra money:

  • persons who are additionally en titled to a war invalid's pension due to their stay in places of isolation or survivors' pension after these invalids,
  • as well as persons en titled to a military invalid's pension in connection with military service or a survivor's pension after a soldier whose death is related to military service.

The income limits are, however, the limited fringe work for those who do nothave reached retirement age- e.g. they are on the so-called retirement pension. However, it all depends on how much the pensioner earns.

If his monthly income does not exceed 70 percent average monthly salary for the previous quarter, it will not have the slightest impact on the suspension of the pension. When it fits in the range 70-130 percent. the same wage, the pension will be reduced proportionally. The pensioner will then receive a decision in which the Social Insurance Institution will determine when the benefit will be reduced, and will specify a specific amount (also if the benefit should be reduced for a certain period back - then the pension will finally be settled after the end of the calendar year. 130% of the average salary, the pension will be suspended.

So, being in such a situation, before signing the contract, it is worth checking the limit applicable in a given quarter so as not to lose part or all of your pension. The amount of the average monthly salary is announced every quarter by the president of the Central Statistical Office, all the necessary information can also be found on the website of the Social Insurance Institution.

How much can you earn in retirement in 2022?

Pensioners who are covered by the so-called with the limit of revenues resulting from the fact that they have retired or are on a bridge retirement, they may, without the risk of losing the benefit, earn no more than 70 percent per month. average monthly salary. In the period from March 1 to May 31, 2022, this amount - according to GUS data - amounted to PLN 3,404.70. Income higher than this amount will reduce your pension benefit.

When the pensioner earns 130 percent average monthly salary, his pension will be suspended - in the period from March 1 to May 31, 2022, this amount is PLN 6322.90. These amounts change every quarter, so it is worth checking the current amount of the average monthly salary.

Retired job: how to find?

Where can a pensioner work? The easiest way - with your current employer, if of course it is possible. Many employers willingly employ their retired employees, because they do not require expensive training, they already know the duties in a given position perfectly, in addition, their work is less expensive for the company, because they do not have to pay contributions to the Labor Fund and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund ( FGŚP). Finally - in the event of financial problems, they can be released, as they are not covered by pre-retirement protection.

A retiree can hire youalso in a different company than before - now, due to the lack of manpower, there is no such problem with it as it was a few years ago. Websites are full of job offers for pensioners in trade or security.

Retired work: not necessarily full-time

It is worth knowing that the retiree has a variety of employment options to choose from. The most advantageous is full-time employment, from which ZUS contributions are paid, which may affect the amount of the later retirement pension.

But pensioners are also employed under civil law contracts, e.g. a specific task contract or a mandate contract - especially the latter is eagerly chosen by employers, because there is no need to send an employee to mandatory and often costly he alth and safety training or to commission medical examinations. It is therefore worth knowing that the employer also has to pay contributions from such a contract, if the pensioner has no other income apart from this order and retirement pension. However, such contributions do not have to be paid if the pensioner, apart from this mandate, also has an employment contract for at least the lowest salary - unless he has signed the contract with the same employer. When deciding on this form of employment, however, it is worth monitoring the regulations on an ongoing basis, as they change quite often.

Pensioners can also run their own business, i.e. be self-employed.

Finally - a pensioner may be the so-called temporary worker, hired seasonally in the event of increased demand for staff with specific skills (e.g. to sell ice cream in the summer or to guard goods in a shop against theft in the pre-holiday period).

What do you need to inform ZUS about if you want to work in retirement?

The regulations say that people who have retired early and want to work must inform ZUS about it - otherwise they will have to return unduly received benefits (this obligation does not apply to people who already have an established right to a retirement pension and have reached the retirement age for general retirement pension).

Being in such a situation and deciding to work in retirement, it is worth being honest with ZUS. Therefore, if you already know that you will continue to work when applying for your pension, indicate it in the application - and if you are already taking up a pension while you are already retired, notify ZUS about taking up work and the amount of earnings using a special ZUS EROP form.

Additionally, every year you have to provide ZUS with a certificate on the amount of income for the previous year - on its basis, the inspectors will determine whether the retirement benefit has been paid in the correct amount.Retirees have time to submit such a certificate by the end of February each year. What are the risks of missing such information? ZUS is absolute here: from a pensioner who has not informed about his or her income, he may request the return of the benefits he is not en titled to even three years back, and if he does, ZUS will request the return of the unqualified benefits only for the last year.

Category:

Geriatrics