A higher 800+ payment for a third child is circulating in the demographic debate, but it is not part of the government’s draft bill. The government is working on automatically extending the benefit through ZUS.
Where the idea of a higher benefit comes from
The idea of tiering the benefit was put forward by Dr Agnieszka Wincewicz-Price of the Polish Economic Institute (PIE). She pointed to solutions under consideration in Finland, where greater support, especially for a third child, is being discussed. In her view, the 500+ and 800+ programmes improved family incomes but did not bring a lasting increase in fertility.
This is the view of an expert, not an announcement from the family ministry or the prime minister. A higher rate for a third child is not included in the government amendment sent to the Sejm.
Other ideas in circulation
A petition has also been submitted to the Sejm, calling for the amount of the benefit to depend on the number of children and the average wage. According to its author, a family with two children would receive PLN 2,262 a month, with three children PLN 4,156, and with four children considerably more. For now, this is only a proposal submitted as a petition.
Opposition politicians have also previously proposed a benefit that rises with the number of children, including in the policy documents of PiS.
What the government is actually changing
The government bill (print no. 3267) concerns a different issue: ending the annual application requirement. The right to 800+ is to be renewed automatically by ZUS, starting from the 2027/2028 benefit period, and the change is to take effect on 1 June 2027. We wrote about this when Tusk announced the end of the annual 800+ application.
The benefit currently amounts to PLN 800 a month for each child up to the age of 18, regardless of the number of children in the family. As of publication, the family ministry has not announced any change to the 800+ amount or a higher rate for a third child.
