Free eligibility checker
Does your parent qualify for the bon senioralny?
Seven questions and a straight answer, with the provision that decides it. No sign-up, no personal data.
- Seven questions, a straight answer
- Based on the act, not on the draft
- No sign-up and no personal details
The senior's situation
The result updates as you type. Nothing is sent to a server.
The Act requires a completed 65th year of life. There is no 75 or 80 threshold, despite what many articles claim.
The average across the three months before applying. Note: the Act counts dochód, the amount after tax and contributions, which in practice is what ZUS actually transfers, not the gross figure. The dodatek pielęgnacyjny care supplement is tax-exempt, so it does not count here. The threshold is PLN 3,410.
Dressing, meals, hygiene, moving around, contact with other people. The gmina assesses this, but without such needs there is no entitlement at all.
The Act covers citizens of Poland, the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, plus UK citizens covered by the withdrawal agreement.
The voucher requires residence in Poland, and the application is handled by the gmina where the senior lives.
This does not affect entitlement, but it decides the order in which money reaches gminas. If you are unsure, ask at the local social services office.
Result
Every point with its legal basis, so you can check it or take it to the gmina.
This depends on a decision nobody can predict here
The formal conditions look good, but at least one thing depends on the gmina's assessment or on official discretion. Exactly which one is below.
There is still PLN 610 of headroom below the PLN 3,410 threshold.
What depends on the gmina
- Unmet needs exist, but the gmina assesses them and sets the scope of support (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 1)
What is satisfied
- The senior has completed their 65th year (art. 24 ust. 1)
- Income falls within the income criterion (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 3)
- Citizenship falls within the statutory list (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 2)
- The senior lives in Poland (art. 26 ust. 3)
When money will reach this gmina
The Act splits gminas into three groups: first those with no public care services, then those serving at most ten people, and last those with the fastest growing senior population. The local social services office will tell you which group applies.
How much is the voucher worth? Nobody knows yet
The Act contains no amount. It contains no number of hours and no points scale either. All of it was handed to a Council of Ministers regulation that will define the Senior Voucher Programme, and which had not been published when this page was written. The figure of 2,150 zł a month quoted in most articles comes from an earlier draft that never became law. The voucher is not a payment in any case: it buys support services, and the gmina pays the provider rather than the senior.
Need more than a few hours of help a week?
The bon senioralny is occasional support at home. If your parent needs care around the clock, tell us what you are looking for and we will send facilities that match the situation and the budget.
Find a care homeSix things the internet gets wrong
Before the Act was passed, a separate draft bon senioralny bill from September 2025 was circulating, and many articles still describe that one. Here is the comparison with the text actually in force.
What you read
Only people aged 75+ qualify, and until the end of 2028 only those aged 80+
What the Act says
A completed 65th year and nothing more. The text contains no 75 threshold, no 80 threshold and no transitional provision raising the age (art. 24 ust. 1).
What you read
The voucher is worth 2,150 zł a month
What the Act says
The Act contains no amount at all. The value is to be set by a Council of Ministers regulation that has not yet been issued (art. 29).
What you read
The number of hours depends on a score from 11 to 60 points
What the Act says
There is no points scale and no hour brackets anywhere in the Act. That belonged to the abandoned draft.
What you read
The criterion is a gross pension of 3,410 zł including the care supplement
What the Act says
The PLN 3,410 threshold applies to dochód as defined in the Family Benefits Act, meaning the amount after tax and contributions. The dodatek pielęgnacyjny is tax-exempt, so it does not enter that figure (art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 3).
What you read
The application is filed by a working adult child who must earn between 3,500 and 6,700 zł
What the Act says
The Act imposes no income test and no employment requirement on the applicant. Only the senior's situation counts, and the case is handled by the gmina where they live.
What you read
Applications are accepted from 1 to 30 September 2026
What the Act says
The Act sets no application dates. The procedure is to be defined by regulation, and the programme starts in stages, gmina by gmina.
What the Act actually says
Every condition the checker relies on, with its provision. The only source is the text promulgated in the Journal of Laws (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 986).
Show the detailsHide the details
What the Act actually says
Every condition the checker relies on, with its provision. The only source is the text promulgated in the Journal of Laws (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 986).
Show the detailsHide the details| Condition | Content | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Age | completed 65th year | art. 24 ust. 1 - with no transitional provision raising that age |
| Income criterion | PLN 3,410 | art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 3 - average monthly income over the 3 months before applying, as defined in art. 3 pkt 1 of the Family Benefits Act, so after tax and contributions. Indexed annually and announced in Monitor Polski by the end of February (art. 26 ust. 2) |
| Unmet needs | a necessary condition | art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 1 - needs relating to basic daily activities, assessed by the gmina |
| Citizenship | Poland, EU, EEA, Switzerland, United Kingdom | art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 2 |
| Place of residence | Poland, the senior's own gmina | art. 26 ust. 3 and 4 - the condition must hold throughout the period the voucher is used |
| Exclusions | 11 situations | art. 27 ust. 1 - nursing benefit, special care allowance, carer's allowance, support benefit, specialist care services, services under government programmes, DPS, ZOL and ZPO, facilities under art. 67-69 of the Social Assistance Act, any other round-the-clock care, day care |
| Exception for short stays | up to 14 days at a time | art. 27 ust. 2 - occasional care does not rule out the voucher, but granting it is discretionary |
| Value of the voucher | not yet set | art. 29 - the Council of Ministers must define the Programme by regulation, adopted for three-year periods. No such regulation exists yet |
| Spending limit 2026-2035 | 4,698.6 million zł | art. 48 ust. 1 - within part 85 (voivodeships), which funds the grants to gminas: 100 million zł in 2026, 419.23 million in 2027, 519.71 million in 2028 |
Age
completed 65th year
art. 24 ust. 1 - with no transitional provision raising that age
Income criterion
PLN 3,410
art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 3 - average monthly income over the 3 months before applying, as defined in art. 3 pkt 1 of the Family Benefits Act, so after tax and contributions. Indexed annually and announced in Monitor Polski by the end of February (art. 26 ust. 2)
Unmet needs
a necessary condition
art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 1 - needs relating to basic daily activities, assessed by the gmina
Citizenship
Poland, EU, EEA, Switzerland, United Kingdom
art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 2
Place of residence
Poland, the senior's own gmina
art. 26 ust. 3 and 4 - the condition must hold throughout the period the voucher is used
Exclusions
11 situations
art. 27 ust. 1 - nursing benefit, special care allowance, carer's allowance, support benefit, specialist care services, services under government programmes, DPS, ZOL and ZPO, facilities under art. 67-69 of the Social Assistance Act, any other round-the-clock care, day care
Exception for short stays
up to 14 days at a time
art. 27 ust. 2 - occasional care does not rule out the voucher, but granting it is discretionary
Value of the voucher
not yet set
art. 29 - the Council of Ministers must define the Programme by regulation, adopted for three-year periods. No such regulation exists yet
Spending limit 2026-2035
4,698.6 million zł
art. 48 ust. 1 - within part 85 (voivodeships), which funds the grants to gminas: 100 million zł in 2026, 419.23 million in 2027, 519.71 million in 2028
Frequently asked questions
From what age is the bon senioralny available?
From a completed 65th year of life, under art. 24 ust. 1 of the Act of 11 June 2026. The 75 threshold repeated in many articles, and the restriction to those aged 80+ in 2026-2028, come from an earlier draft that never became law.
How is the income criterion calculated?
You take the senior's average monthly income across the three months before the application and compare it with the PLN 3,410 threshold. The Act refers to the definition of dochód in the Family Benefits Act, so it means the amount after income tax and after social and health contributions, not the gross figure. The practical reference point is what ZUS transfers to the account. The dodatek pielęgnacyjny is tax-exempt and does not enter that figure. The threshold is indexed annually.
How much money will the senior receive?
That is not known yet, because the Act contains no amount and no number of hours. Art. 29 requires the Council of Ministers to define the Senior Voucher Programme by regulation, which has not yet been published. It is also worth remembering that the voucher is not a transfer to the senior: it buys support services, which the gmina pays the provider for.
Can the voucher be combined with a care home?
Not with a permanent stay. Art. 27 ust. 1 excludes round-the-clock care in a DPS, in a ZOL or ZPO, in facilities under art. 67-69 of the Social Assistance Act and with any other provider, as well as institutional day care. There is one exception: if the care is occasional and lasts no longer than 14 days at a time, the gmina may still grant the voucher (art. 27 ust. 2). A short respite stay can therefore coexist with the voucher; a permanent one cannot.
Who applies, and where?
Gminas run the programme as a task delegated from central government, and the competent one is the gmina where the senior lives, which in practice means the local social services office. The detailed application procedure will only be set by regulation. The Act does not require a working adult child to apply, and it does not examine the applicant's income.
Does the voucher rule out the zasiłek pielęgnacyjny?
No. Art. 27 ust. 1 pkt 1 lists świadczenie pielęgnacyjne, specjalny zasiłek opiekuńczy and zasiłek dla opiekuna, but not zasiłek pielęgnacyjny or the ZUS dodatek pielęgnacyjny. That is an important difference, because the names are deceptively similar and even the press confuses them.
Will every gmina launch the voucher straight away?
No. Art. 28 sets the order: first gminas with no public care services, then those serving at most ten people, and last those with the fastest growing senior population. The programme is financed by earmarked grants within the limit in art. 48, so the pace is set by the budget rather than by the number of eligible people.
Read next
Before you treat this as an official decision
The checker reproduces the conditions in the Act, but it cannot replace the gmina's assessment. The scope of unmet needs is established by the social services office in its own procedure, the value of the support will only be set by a Council of Ministers regulation, and availability depends on when money reaches your particular gmina. Treat the result as a starting point for a conversation at the social services office, not as a resolution of the case.
Legal status: Act of 11 June 2026 on older persons and the coordination of long-term care (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 986), promulgated 23 July 2026, in force since 7 August 2026. Content checked against the Journal of Laws text on 30 July 2026.