Heating Vouchers now available for Eligible seniors – Deadline Approaching
WARSAW, POLAND – A new heating voucher program, frequently enough referred to as “New 500 plus” for seniors, is now accepting applications for benefits covering the period of July 1 to December 31, 2025. The program aims to assist individuals receiving a pension not exceeding PLN 3,272.69 with rising heating costs.
The voucher amounts are tiered based on heating costs:
* PLN 500 – if heating costs are not higher than PLN 200/GJ net
* PLN 750 – if heating costs are between PLN 200/GJ net and PLN 230/GJ net
* PLN 3,500 – if heating costs exceed PLN 230/GJ net.
However,the majority of recipients are expected to receive PLN 500 (and PLN 1,000 in 2026) due to typical Polish system heat prices being closer to PLN 170/GJ than PLN 230/GJ.
The “PLN for PLN” principle applies, meaning benefits are reduced proportionally if income exceeds the eligibility threshold, but will not be issued if the calculated benefit falls below PLN 20.
Important Dates & Application Process:
* Applications for the July 1 – December 31, 2025 period are being accepted now through December 15, 2025.
* Applications for the january 1 – December 31, 2026 period will be accepted from July 1 to August 31, 2026.
Applications must be submitted to the commune head, mayor, or city president of the applicant’s place of residence. Failure to apply within the specified deadlines will result in forfeiture of the benefit.
In multi-person households, the voucher will be paid to the first applicant; subsequent applications will be disregarded. Households sharing a single heating bill at one address are limited to one voucher. The commune office will determine household size and address-based household counts at the time of application.
Legal Basis: Act of September 12, 2025 on heating vouchers and amending certain acts in order to limit the level of electricity prices (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 1302).
