Obtaining an increase to an officer’s retirement pension in connection with service involving the physical combating of terrorism is possible even where there are significant gaps in the documentation.
Increase of a Border Guard Officer’s Retirement Pension
Unlike pensions paid from the Social Insurance Fund (Fundusz Ubezpieczeń Społecznych), those awarded to officers of the uniformed services (including the Border Guard) are calculated as a percentage of the assessment base, which is itself determined by reference to the officer’s most recent salary. That percentage is derived from the length of the officer’s service prior to retirement and from numerous modifiers, connected, amongst other things, with the particular (especially hazardous) conditions of that service.
Crucially, the maximum pension (75% of the assessment base) carries additional benefits — in such circumstances, the Pension and Annuity Institute of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (Zakład Emerytalno-Rentowy MSWiA) may not make deductions even where the pensioner receives income from other sources.
Facts of the Case
The firm’s client served as a Border Guard officer for many years. For almost the entirety of his service he was engaged in carrying out the most hazardous duties — he escorted VIP individuals, conveyed deported persons, protected aircraft as a sky marshal, and participated in the apprehension of particularly dangerous criminals. Regrettably, owing to the improper maintenance of his personal records by the Border Guard, upon leaving the service he did not receive a certificate confirming his service under those conditions. As a consequence, for many years he received a pension lower than that to which he was in fact entitled.
The Firm’s Actions
Rectifying this situation required a series of steps. First and foremost, it was necessary to lodge an application for recalculation of the client’s pension (in order to open the path to an appeal before the Court); the client then required representation in proceedings before courts of two instances (the Zakład Emerytalno-Rentowy MSWiA lodged an appeal against the judgment of the Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) that had been favourable to the client). The proceedings as a whole lasted almost three years.
Outcome
Ultimately, the proceedings concluded in complete success — the Courts finally determined by a binding judgment that the client’s pension ought to be increased accordingly by reason of the special conditions of his service, as a result of which he was awarded the maximum pension.
Of particular significance, the pension authority paid the client arrears of pension for the entire period of the proceedings, and also reimbursed deductions that had been unlawfully made in connection with income he had received from other sources.