What if a foreigner doesnt want to get retired in Poland ? Retirement money back?

Hi Forum,

I was looking for an answer for my question but couldnt find anywhere. Then i saw your forum and thought that would be great idea to ask in here and start this thread. I am new in forum so if this question was asked before please be so kind to me and share the link.

My question is I am married with Polish woman and working in Poland for full 4 years. In my country ( Turkey ) i have less retirement age which is 60. When i check in Poland it shows me 67. In this case being retired in Turkey is looking far more better than Poland ( also when i see the amounth of the retirement payment in Poland, i can get double of it in Turkey )

What if i dont want to get retired in Poland and want to get this retirement money back which i paid ? I will not give an amounth what i paid but really if i decide to go back to my country for good ( of course with my lovely wife ) What happens to this money which i paid to ZUS ? Can i take this money back somehow before i leave the country or this money stays in there and i cant get even a groszy from it ?

I don't think you can get the money. Just like when someone dies before retiring.
What you should check instead is if there is a possibility that the money you have paid here may contribute to your pension in Turkey. I think it is possible within the EU. Not sure about Turkey.

I would imagine you would pay a high rate of tax also if you take this money.

They don't give the money back, and I doubt many people from outside the EU who've paid it have both paid enough years to qualify for a pension worth claiming as well as reaching statutory retirement age.

The money paid doubtless covers payments to those unable to pay into the scheme themselves due to poverty or disability.

There are two types of pensions employment based where you pay from your wages and your employer pays usually the same a out. You can cash out and pay tax on the sum invested.

The other is state pension where you contribute to by paying your tax, In Ireland you qualify if you work paid employment for 10 years for low rate, to 30 years for the high rate. If you are talking about transfering this then it's not possible. State pension is only paid for residents of the state.

Untrue. Poland pays out from the very first contribution, regardless of where the person is resident. If you work 10 years in Poland, then you'll get a pension based on those contributions (which depends according to the amount contributed, rather than a fixed rate amount).

The difference is that in EU countries (and with other ones where Poland has signed an agreement), you can transfer the contributions. For instance, if you have contributed 100,000zł in PL, you can transfer that to another system as long as Poland has an agreement with that system.

Unfortunately Turkey doesnt have this agreement. Turkey has only with a few countries in EU which there are high Turkish population such as Germany, Belgium, Holland. So this money paid by my company where i am working now for sure i can forget that and wait for my 67 years b.day to claim to get retirement payment monthly. But also does it matter how much i contribute or it doesnt matter when i will be 67 ?

As delphiandomine noted, you need a minimum period of contributions (10 years) before you get any state pension.

Interesting topics, guys I'm working in Poland 4 years too,
do you know if Poland has agreement with USA to transfer
pension after 10 years working in Poland? Thanks

There's no 10 year limit, I only used that as an example. Poland pays out pensions from the first contribution, and yes, there are people receiving less than 1zł monthly in pensions.

It's all explained nicely here: ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/polish.html

And yes, contributions made in Poland contribute towards a US pension and vice-versa.

Hey guys, just stumbled into this interesting topic, which became very relevant to me now because I am moving to Switzerland soon. Some of you mentioned that it is possible to transfer your ZUS contribution to another EU state (I assume Switzerland counts cuz it is EFTA), but what are the procedures? Can anyone please advise?

Yes, Switzerland is included in the agreement. You'll have to ask at your ZUS office about the procedure.

Thanks, but my colleague called ZUS and was told there is no way to transfer the benefits, even if I were European....now I am really confused...

Then that person at ZUS was mistaken:

Here is the applicable law in English:

eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32004R0883R(01)

and in Polish:

eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/?uri=celex:32004R0883R(01)

@DominicB
You are absolutely right. Have you had any experience on this matter? Do you know the procedures, maybe?

Frankcow look at my post here:
https://polishforums.com/law/poland-leave-return-home-country-57079/#msg1615996
If you're talking about combining social insurance contributions for retirement pension purposes that's done when you apply for your pension. The country in which you're applying takes the information regarding the dates you worked in other EU countries and works it out for you.