The Poland–U.S. social security agreement

Insurance period — time during which social insurance contributions were paid for a person. In Poland these are usually years of employment evidenced by work certificates.

Since when has the agreement applied?

The Agreement on Social Security between the Republic of Poland and the United States of America was signed in Warsaw on 2 April 2008 and entered into force on 1 March 2009. Since that date, insurance periods completed in both countries can be combined.

What does combining periods actually mean?

Where the periods completed in one country are not sufficient for a benefit to be granted, periods completed in the other country are added. Combining serves to establish entitlement — it does not mean that one country will pay a pension for the other country's years.

Payment is divided between the two states. Each grants its own benefit in an amount corresponding to the ratio of the insurance periods completed in that state to the total length of periods in both states. In practice this produces two separate benefits, each from its own system.

Key points

Signed 2 April 2008, in force since 1 March 2009.
Insurance periods from Poland and the United States are combined to establish entitlement.
Each country pays for its own periods, in proportion to their share of the total record.
The result is two separate benefits, not one joint payment.
From the United States the application is filed through the SSA or at the Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.

Where do you file from the United States?

The application may be filed with the American insurance institution, which forwards it to the Polish side:

Social Security Administration, Office of International Operations, P.O. Box 17775, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-7775, USA,
or the Federal Benefits Unit at the Embassy of the United States in Warsaw, ul. Piękna 12.

There is therefore no need to file documents in Poland in person, or to travel.

What usually causes the most difficulty

The hardest part is rarely the agreement itself. It is evidencing Polish insurance periods from several decades ago — particularly where the employer no longer exists and the personnel files have gone to an archive. Establishing where the records are held, and obtaining certificates from them, is often the longest stage of the matter.

How we help

We establish which periods you can evidence and what is missing, search archives for employment records, assemble the application, and handle correspondence with the pension authority. Under a power of attorney we act for you in Poland.

This article is general information about an international agreement, not legal advice about your situation. It describes only the rules flowing from the Poland–U.S. agreement itself. The amount of a benefit, retirement age and required contribution periods are governed by separate national rules, which need to be checked for each individual case. If you would like to know how this looks in your case, describe it to us.