Funeral benefit 2026: €1,521.74 from ZUS – who is eligible and how to apply step by step

The funeral allowance is a one-time ZUS benefit for the person who paid for the funeral. From 1 January 2026, the amount is €1,521.74: a family member of the deceased receives the full amount regardless of the funeral cost, while a person outside the family or an institution receives reimbursement of documented expenses, up to €1,521.74. The ZUS Z-12 application must be submitted within 12 months of the date of death: via PUE/eZUS, at a ZUS office, by post, or through the funeral home. If the deceased was insured with KRUS or received a KRUS pension or disability benefit, the KRUS SR-26 application is submitted to KRUS.

Legal status: November 2026 – we checked the information on November 5, 2026 on the gov.pl, ZUS and KRUS websites and in the texts of the acts. Formalities after the death of a loved one arrive at the most difficult time, which is why we have gathered them in one place, step by step.

How much is the funeral allowance in 2026?

The funeral grant is €1,521.74 for persons who died from 1 January 2026. Previously, from 2011, it was €869.57 – the increase was introduced by the Act of May 9, 2025 (Journal of Laws 2025, item 718).

• What counts is the date of death, not the date of the application. For a person who died in December 2025, the grant is €869.57, even if the application is submitted in 2026
• Indexation from March 1 only takes place if the average annual inflation of the previous year exceeds 5%. For 2025, GUS reported an index of 103.6, so there was no indexation on 1 March 2026 and the grant still remains €1,521.74.
• If several people paid, they share the allowance in proportion to the costs, and each person submits a separate application. Example according to the ZUS method: two people outside the family spent €652.17 and €1,521.74, so they will receive €456.52 (30%) and €1,065.22 (70%).

Who is entitled to the funeral allowance?

The allowance goes to the person who paid the funeral costs and has the documents to prove it – provided that the deceased was connected with ZUS. According to ZUS this applies to the death of, among others:

• a person insured with ZUS, e.g. an employee,
• a retiree or pensioner, including one receiving a bridging pension or a teachers' compensation benefit,
• a person who had not been granted a retirement or disability pension but met the conditions to receive one,
• a person receiving a social pension, a benefit or a pre-retirement allowance or, after insurance coverage has ended, sickness benefit or a rehabilitation benefit,
• a family member of, among others, a retiree, a pension recipient or an insured person.

Family member in the meaning of ZUS are: a spouse (including one who is legally separated), parents, stepfather, stepmother and adoptive parent, own children, adopted children and the children of a spouse, foster children or children taken in for upbringing before reaching adulthood, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and persons under legal guardianship. The list is closed: it does not include, for example, a life partner, parents-in-law, a son-in-law or a daughter-in-law. If they pay for the funeral, ZUS will reimburse them for documented costs, up to €1,521.74.

The allowance is paid on one basis only – you will not receive it twice, for example from both ZUS and KRUS.

Who will not receive the funeral allowance?

The funeral allowance is not due to everyone. You will not receive it if:

• you did not pay for the funeral – the money goes to the person who bore the costs, not automatically to the closest relatives,
• the deceased did not meet any of the conditions described above,
• 12 months have passed since the death (we describe the exception below),
• you do not have receipts confirming the expenses.

When no allowance is due after the deceased, from January 1, 2026 the social welfare center may grant a designated allowance to cover funeral costs – regardless of income. It may also cover extraordinary costs that are hard to foresee and cannot be covered by the funeral allowance, for example bringing the body back from abroad. In certain cases the designated allowance must be repaid, for example from the estate if the applicant is an heir (MRPiPS).

Deadline: 12 months from the date of death

The application for the funeral allowance must be submitted within 12 months of the date of death – after that, the right to the allowance expires. If your loved one died on March 10, 2026, you have until March 10, 2027, but it is not worth waiting until the last days.

An exception applies when the application could not have been submitted earlier because the body was found or identified later, or for other reasons entirely beyond your control. In that case you have 12 months from the date of the funeral and you attach a document explaining the delay: a certificate from the police or the prosecutor's office, a full copy of the death certificate, or another official document.

What documents are needed for the funeral allowance? Checklist

The basis is the Z-12 application and the funeral receipts, while copies of civil status records can be obtained by ZUS itself if you provide the necessary data in the application.

• ZUS Z-12 application in the current version – ZUS updated the form on March 27, 2026.
• Original receipts and invoices for the funeral, including those from the parish; if the originals are at a bank – copies certified by the bank.
• Short-form copy of the death certificate or the deceased's details: first and last name, place and date of birth or PESEL number, date and place of death.
• Document confirming kinship or affinity (if you are a relative), for example a copy of a birth or marriage certificate.
• Certificate from the contribution payer (for example an employer) – when it concerns an insured person (you or the deceased); it does not apply to people running a non-agricultural business and those who work with them.
• Bank account number – without it, the allowance will be sent to the address given in the application.
• ID card or passport when applying in person, and ZUS PEL power of attorney, when someone else acts on your behalf.
• In special situations: a death certificate issued abroad, documents concerning a stillborn child or a child placed in foster care, a document explaining the delay in submitting the application.

How to submit the funeral allowance application (Z-12) step by step

You can submit the application online, in person, by post, or through the funeral home. The competent office is the ZUS branch that paid the deceased's retirement or disability pension, and in other cases the branch for your place of residence. Any ZUS office will accept the documents, however, and forward them.

1. Gather the documents and check that the bills were issued to the person who paid.
2. Fill in the Z-12 application – download it from the ZUS website or fill it in online.
3. Provide the account number – your own, and if the funeral home is being paid directly, the funeral home's account as well.
4. Submit the application by your chosen channel and wait for the payment. ZUS issues a refusal in the form of a decision.

Online (PUE/eZUS)

On PUE/eZUS select the service "Submission of document Z-12", complete the form and attach scans of the documents. You can sign it with a Trusted Profile, a PUE/eZUS profile, a qualified certificate, or a personal signature from the e-ID card. Keep the original bills: according to the ZUS notice of October 31, 2025, they must be delivered as originals or as copies certified by a bank.

In person or by post

At a ZUS office you can submit the application in writing or orally for the record. You can book a visit through PUE/eZUS, and you will find the address in the ZUS office finder. If you send the documents by post, keep copies of them.

Funeral grant and the funeral home

The funeral home can forward your application to ZUS, and the grant can be paid, in full or in part, directly into its account. It works like this:

• in the Z-12 application you enter the funeral home's details, including its NIP and REGON numbers, and an authorization to pay the grant into its account,
• a person authorized by the funeral home confirms the date the documents were received with a stamp and signature, and the funeral home forwards them to ZUS,
• the funeral home can receive the money only by transfer to its bank account.

Example: the family is entitled to €1,521.74, and the funeral home's invoice amounts to €1,260.87. The application may state that €1,260.87 goes to the funeral home, and €260.87 to the bank account of a family member. Also ask whether the funeral home charges a fee for handling ZUS formalities, as ZUS does not count it as a funeral cost.

KRUS, uniformed services and death abroad

Funeral grant from KRUS

If the deceased was insured with KRUS or received a KRUS pension or disability benefit, you submit the application to KRUS, using form KRUS SR-26 in the version valid from 1 January 2026, either directly or through the funeral home. The amount €1,521.74, the rules for the family and for persons outside it, and the 12-month deadline are the same as at ZUS (KRUS).

Uniformed services

Professional officers and soldiers are subject to separate regulations, but the act of 9 May 2025 raised to €1,521.74 their funeral grants as well (including in the Police, Border Guard, State Fire Service, Prison Service and the military). After a deceased police pensioner or disability pensioner, the application is submitted to ZER MSWiA; for other services, ask the pension authority or the unit.

Death abroad

A death abroad does not rule out the grant. ZUS accepts a death certificate issued abroad. Ask at the office whether a translation will be needed. When death occurs in an EU or EFTA country, ZUS determines the right to the grant as if the death had occurred in Poland, and a person living in another EU/EFTA country can submit the application on form E 124 through the local insurance institution (ZUS – EU/EFTA coordination). If the cost of repatriating the body is high, consider the special-purpose grant described above.

How long does it take to receive the funeral grant?

ZUS pays the benefit without delay, at the latest within 14 days of the last circumstance needed to grant it being clarified, e.g. the submission of a complete set of documents – so any missing item extends the wait. If ZUS refuses, it will issue a decision. You file an appeal to the district court – the labor and social insurance court – free of charge, through the ZUS branch that issued the decision, within one month of its delivery.

The most common mistakes in a funeral benefit application

• Putting off the application – 12 months after the death, the right to the benefit expires.
• A bill issued to someone else – the benefit goes to the person who paid, so ask for an invoice made out to the person who pays and submits the application.
• Ordinary photocopies instead of originals – at a branch or by mail you submit original bills or copies certified by a bank; with an online application, keep the originals.
• One application for several people – everyone who paid submits their own application.
• Including the gravestone in funeral costs – when reimbursing costs, ZUS does not take into account, among other things, the gravestone, flowers and the funeral reception.
• The wrong institution or an outdated form – check whether the right body is ZUS, KRUS or a service authority, and download the current form.

Funeral benefit and the gravestone – what the regulations say

A family may use the benefit for any purpose, including a gravestone, whereas a person outside the family and an institution cannot claim the cost of a gravestone from ZUS.

Non-family members and institutions: the gravestone is not reimbursed

According to the ZUS announcement of October 31, 2025 funeral costs are documented expenses from the moment of death until the end of the burial. ZUS explicitly excludes expenses not directly related to the burial, including the gravestone, flowers, the funeral reception and the funeral home's fee for submitting the application – so an invoice for a gravestone will not increase the reimbursement. ZUS decides which expenses are recognized in its decision, which can be appealed.

Family: the benefit in the budget for a gravestone

A family member receives €1,521.74 regardless of the actual costs, and there is no settlement with ZUS for how the money is spent. If part of the amount remains after paying for the funeral, the family may, though does not have to, use it for the gravestone and its fittings. A few tips:

1. Settle the funeral costs first and check how much is actually left.
2. Ask the stonemason for a written quote covering the slab, installation, cemetery fees, inscription and extras – approximate gravestone prices are in our FAQ, and the cost of the inscription is explained in the guide Cost of a gravestone inscription.
3. Choose details that will last for years. Letters, a cross and decorations are the most visible part of a gravestone; made of stainless steel, they do not rust and leave no rust streaks on the stone.
4. Plan the inscription before ordering – you can check the letter layout in the inscription configurator.

Zecero is a Polish manufacturer from Janikowo near Poznań, operating since 1994. We make from stainless steel tombstone letters, crosses for gravestones, gravestone decorations, lamps and vases, and we give a 10-year warranty against corrosion. If you need help choosing, write to us – we will advise you without rushing.

Good to know: in inheritance tax, the funeral costs of the deceased, including the gravestone, reduce the tax base – to the extent that is customary and only for the part that was not covered from the deceased's estate or from the funeral allowance and was not reimbursed in any other way (Art. 7 para. 3 of the Polish Inheritance and Gift Tax Act). If an heir pays this tax, it is worth keeping the invoices for the gravestone.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

How much is the funeral allowance at present?

In November 2026, the funeral grant is €1,521.74 for persons who died from 1 January 2026. The family receives the full amount, while a person outside the family or an institution receives reimbursement of documented costs up to €1,521.74. For persons who died by the end of 2025, the entitlement is €869.57.

Since when is the funeral grant €1,521.74 and will it increase?

Since January 1, 2026. The amount increases from March 1 only if the average annual inflation of the previous year exceeds 5%. For 2025 it was 3.6%, so there was no indexation in 2026; whether there is an increase in 2027 will be decided by the inflation rate for 2026.

Is everyone entitled to the funeral allowance?

No. It is paid only to the person who covered the funeral costs, and only if the deceased was, for example, insured with ZUS, was a retiree or pensioner, or was a family member of such a person. The application must be submitted within 12 months of the date of death.

Who pays the funeral allowance?

ZUS – when the deceased was connected with ZUS, for example was insured with it or received a retirement pension or disability pension from ZUS. KRUS – when the deceased was insured with KRUS or received a retirement or disability pension from it. For retired and pensioned police officers, the allowance is paid by ZER MSWiA. The allowance is granted from one source only.

Is the KRUS funeral allowance the same amount as the ZUS one?

Yes. From 1 January 2026, KRUS also pays the family €1,521.74, and reimburses documented costs to other persons and institutions up to €1,521.74. The deadline is 12 months from the date of death, and the application is submitted on form KRUS SR-26.

Is the funeral allowance enough to cover the burial?

It depends on the services chosen. Before signing a contract, ask the funeral home for a cost estimate and compare it with the amount €1,521.74. For extraordinary costs, such as transporting a body from abroad, you may apply to the social welfare centre for a special-purpose benefit.

Can the funeral benefit be used for a gravestone?

A family member – yes. They receive a fixed amount €1,521.74 and decide for themselves what to spend it on, including the gravestone, the inscription or the cross. A person outside the family and an institution receive only reimbursement of funeral costs, without the cost of the gravestone.

Important: this article is for information only and is not legal advice. The regulations may change, so before submitting an application, please confirm the current rules with ZUS (helpline 22 560 16 00) or with KRUS.

Sources

• gov.pl – Obtain a funeral allowance (page updated: January 2, 2026)
• ZUS – Funeral allowance
• ZUS – How to obtain a funeral allowance
• ZUS – Application Z-12 (form updated: March 27, 2026)
• ZUS – Higher funeral allowance from January 1, 2026 (October 31, 2025)
• ZUS – Funeral allowance in EU/EFTA countries
• KRUS – Funeral allowance
• ZER MSWiA – What documents must be submitted to obtain a funeral allowance?
• MRPiPS – Higher funeral allowance now certain (June 2, 2025)
• Act of 9 May 2025 amending the Act on Pensions and Disability Benefits from the Social Insurance Fund (FUS) and certain other acts (Dz.U. 2025, item 718)
• Act on Pensions and Disability Benefits from the Social Insurance Fund (FUS) – consolidated text (Dz.U. 2025, item 1749)
• Announcement of the President of Statistics Poland on the average annual price index in 2025 (M.P. 2026, item 81)
• Act on Inheritance and Gift Tax – consolidated text (Dz.U. 2024, item 1837)