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Important changes to the benefit act

On September 18, 2021, some of the changes to the provisions on the benefit act (Act of October 13, 1998 on the social insurance system, Journal of Laws 1998 No. 137 item 887) entered into force. Subsequent changes in accordance with the adopted amendment will come into force on January 1, 2022, April 1, 2022 and January 1, 2023, respectively. Some of the changes are purely organizational, but many introduce significant changes, especially in the field of receiving benefits by the insured. Below are the changes that are already in force. In the next article, we will also present the changes applicable from next year.

Voluntary sickness insurance for cooperating persons

The amended provisions of the act provide for the extension of the group of people entitled to pay for and use voluntary sickness insurance to include cooperating persons. A cooperating person may be a spouse, own child, children of the other spouse or adopted children, as well as parents, stepmother, stepfather, provided that he / she remains in a common household and helps in running a sole proprietorship. This provision applies to persons cooperating for a natural person who conducts business activity for the first time or undertakes it again after a period of at least 60 months from the date of its suspension or termination (benefiting from the start-up relief). In the previous regulations, persons cooperating with an entrepreneur using the start-up relief were not subject to voluntary sickness insurance.

Exemption from charging and paying interest for late payment

The amount on which contribution payers will not have to pay interest on premium arrears has changed. So far, the amount allowing for the exemption could not exceed PLN 6.60. In the amended version of the regulations, the amount of the exemption depends on the amount of the minimum gross remuneration under the employment contract in a given year. The amount of the exemption is 1% of the minimum gross salary in a given year. In 2021 it is the amount of PLN 28, in 2022 the amount of PLN 30.10 will be exempt.

The period of compulsory social insurance for partners of companies

In the amended regulations, partners of single-member limited liability companies and partners of a general partnership, limited partnership or partnership will be subject to the obligation to provide retirement, disability and accident insurance.

  • single-person limited liability companies – partners of such companies will be covered by insurance in the period from the company’s entry into the National Court Register or from the date of acquisition of the company’s shares to the date of deletion of the company from the National Court Register or disposal of all shares in the company, excluding the period for which activity by the company has been suspended,
  • general partnership, limited partnership and partnership – partners of such companies will be covered by insurance in the period from the moment the company is entered into the National Court Register or from the date of acquisition of all rights and obligations in the company until the date of removal of the company from the National Court Register or sale of all rights and obligations in the company , with the exception of the period for which the performance of the company’s activity has been suspended.