ZUS: disability pensioners in Poland getting younger
Poland is seeing a concerning decline in the average age of people receiving disability pensions. In 2025, ZUS granted more than 40,000 new benefits, over two-thirds for partial incapacity to work. The average new recipient was 51.8 years old, compared with 52.2 in 2022, while the average age of all recipients was 53.3. Although the total number of incapacity rulings fell 3.5% y/y to nearly 1.1 mln, mental health conditions increasingly affect younger workers. Doctors issued 1.8 mln mental health-related sick notes covering 34.1 mln absence days.
Such conditions generated PLN 10.2 bln in costs, making prevention and rehabilitation increasingly important.
