An entrepreneur's pension can be far lower than their current income. Learn how the ZUS state pension works and what saving options a business owner has to take care of their future.
You open a company to earn more. You invest in marketing, a car, equipment, employees, training and growth. You think about taxes, ZUS contributions, costs and cash flow — every ongoing expense.
And retirement?
"I still have time."
This is one of the questions entrepreneurs postpone most often. The problem is that an entrepreneur's pension depends largely on how long, and on what basis, pension contributions were paid.
If for years you use lower contributions or pay them on a relatively low basis, you also build up a lower pension capital. That's why running a business is worth combining with a second plan: what will I live on when I stop working?
An entrepreneur, just like an employee, can acquire the right to a pension from ZUS. The amount of the future benefit is, however, tied among other things to the capital recorded on the insured person's account and to the indexed contributions. For an entrepreneur, the level of the basis on which contributions are paid therefore matters a great deal.
Importantly, using preferential contributions or other reliefs means lower burdens today, but may also mean a lower benefit in the future. The Biznes.gov.pl portal points to the same relationship.
And here an important question arises: will the ZUS pension be enough to maintain your current standard of living?
If today, as an entrepreneur, you earn 10, 15 or 20 thousand zloty a month, it is worth considering whether your pension will let you fund life at a similar level.
An employee receives a salary, and part of the money is automatically transferred to the social insurance system. An entrepreneur has to make far more decisions on their own.
You are the one who decides:
And that is exactly why an entrepreneur should have their own retirement plan. It doesn't have to mean one specific product. The point is to build your own capital alongside the ZUS benefit.
There is no single right amount for everyone. The situation of a 25-year-old just registering a sole proprietorship looks quite different from that of a 50-year-old who wants to end their professional activity in 10–15 years.
Among the factors that matter are:
So instead of asking "How much should I save?", it is better to start with: "How much money per month would I like to have in retirement?". Only then can you calculate the capital you need.
For simplicity you can also use a rule of thumb: divide your age by 2 and allocate that percentage of your income to building your pension capital. How does it work? You're 30 with an income of 10,000 zloty. So 30 divided by 2 is 15%, and 15% of 10,000 gives an optimal amount of 1,500 zloty.
It is usually easier to build capital through regular contributions than to try to "put aside something if there's anything left at the end of the year".
For example:
What matters most is not only the size of the contribution, but also time. The earlier you start, the longer the accumulated capital can work. That's why an entrepreneur who starts saving at 30 is in a completely different position from someone who starts at 50.
There is no single universal solution. Among other things, an entrepreneur can consider:
Each of these has a different structure, level of risk, costs, liquidity and tax rules. That's why it is worth looking at saving for retirement as a whole plan rather than a single product.
One option is to use an insurance product that combines an element of saving or investing with insurance protection. This solution may be attractive to an entrepreneur who wants not only to build capital for the future, but also to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Depending on the specific product, the contract may provide for, among other things:
Very important: not all insurance products have the same character. Before signing a contract, you should check, among other things, the fee schedule, the rules for early termination, the level of risk, how benefits are calculated and the payout conditions.
Imagine an entrepreneur who says: "I want to save for retirement, but at the same time I care about protecting my family." In that case, saving alone may not be the only element of the plan.
An insurance product may make it possible to combine two goals: building capital + insurance protection. For an entrepreneur this can be especially significant. Why? Because an entrepreneur is often at the same time:
A retirement plan therefore should not exist in isolation from the entire financial situation.
It is worth taking a broader view. If you run a business, your "retirement wealth" may consist of:
It works best when these elements form a single, thought-through financial plan.
Let's assume you're 30. You have about 30 years left until you turn 60. If you set aside 1,000 zloty a month, over that time you'll pay in 360,000 zloty.
If you start at 45, you have about 15 years left until 60. With the same contribution, that will be 180,000 zloty.
This is, of course, a very simplified example — it doesn't account for inflation, fees or potential investment returns. But it shows the most important thing: time is one of the most important elements of retirement planning. So let your money work for you.
Saving for retirement is often associated with the need to spare several thousand zloty a month. Not always. You can start with an amount that won't put too much strain on your company's and household's budget:
And then increase your contributions as your income grows. Especially for an entrepreneur, this can be more sensible than committing to a high contribution you won't be able to pay regularly in weaker months.
Before you sign a contract, answer a few questions for yourself:
The shorter the time horizon, the more differently the plan should look.
Not how much you'd like to save, but how much you can actually save over many years.
If you are the family's main breadwinner, the answer may be important.
Products differ in the way they invest and in their level of risk.
This is a very important question. Retirement solutions may have specific rules for early withdrawal of funds.
Before signing, it is worth carefully checking all the fees and terms.
Running a business increasingly means working without a traditional office. You can have: a virtual company address + online accounting + an individual retirement plan.
Just as you don't have to rent an office for 160 hours a month if you use it only a few times, there's no reason to put off planning your own future "for later".
That's why VirtOffice works with an insurance specialist, so that entrepreneurs using a virtual office can also talk about individual financial protection and building capital for the future. The point isn't for every entrepreneur to buy a specific product. The point is for you to know what options you have.
Over the years you can build a great business. Grow revenue. Hire people. Win clients. Buy property. Invest. But at some point it is worth asking yourself: "What will be left for me when I no longer want to, or can, work as intensively as I do today?"
The ZUS pension is one piece of this puzzle. The others may be private savings, investments, real estate, the value of the business or well-chosen insurance solutions.
There is no single perfect product for every entrepreneur. There is, however, something that can be good for everyone: to start planning sooner rather than later.
Want to check which solution might fit your situation? VirtOffice works with an insurance specialist you can talk to about ways of protecting yourself and your family and building private capital for the future. Book a consultation and see what your individual plan could look like.
Yes. Entrepreneurs are covered by the social insurance system and can obtain the right to a pension once they meet the conditions set out in the regulations. The amount of the benefit depends among other things on the accumulated capital and contributions.
Yes. In addition to the ZUS benefit, an entrepreneur can build private capital using various forms of saving and investing.
There is no single amount right for everyone. The level of savings should take into account, among other things, age, income, current capital, planned retirement age and expected standard of living.
An IKZE can be an attractive solution for an entrepreneur, partly because contributions can be deducted in the annual tax return. In 2026, the contribution limit for people running a business is 16,956 zloty.
The contribution limit for an IKE in 2026 is 28,260 zloty.
Yes. The market offers insurance products that can combine insurance protection with a savings or investment element. The terms, risk and costs, however, depend on the specific product.
Not every insurance policy serves this function. Some products can combine protection with long-term capital accumulation. Before choosing, you should carefully analyse the contract terms, costs, risk and payout rules.
The earlier you start, the longer you have to build capital systematically. This doesn't mean, though, that starting to save later in life makes no sense — the plan simply should account for a shorter time horizon.
Important: information regarding retirement products, taxes and insurance may depend on current regulations and the terms of the specific contract. This article is educational in nature and does not constitute individual financial or insurance advice.
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