New benefits to support families – Softiq’s next challenge

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Entering a new year does not only mean making resolutions. For Softiq, New Year’s Eve was already a big test! The introduction of the New Deal, and with it the new regulations, meant that the last few weeks were marked by system modifications, and the night from December 31 to January 1 was the moment when our work was reviewed.

The last quarter of 2021 is intensive in projects implemented in cooperation with the Social Insurance Institution and the Ministry of Family and Social Policy. The introduction of new benefits supporting families is another challenge that we managed to meet.

As of January 1, 2022, a new Family Care Capital (RKO) program has been introduced, which entitles parents of children aged 12 to 35 months to receive a benefit of up to PLN 12,000 for the second and each subsequent child. You can read more about it here https://www.zus.pl/baza-wiedzy/biezace-wyjasnienia-komorek-merytorycznych/swiadczenia/-/publisher/details/1/rodzinny-kapital-opiekunczy/3068250. The application for the financing can be submitted only electronically, through the Electronic Services Platform (PUE) of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), the Emp@tia portal and eventually most banks.

At the same time there have been changes in the 500 plus program in terms of the process of handling and payment of the benefit. From the new year, the handling of applications and payments will be handled by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), taking over the tasks from local governments. The new regulations also provide that it will be possible to apply for the 500 plus payment – just as for the RKO benefit – only electronically, through PUE ZUS, the Emp@tia system and electronic banking.

What does Softiq have in common with all this?

Our task was to create appropriate mechanisms which would enable the introduction of all the above principles. As subcontractors of Asseco, we cooperate with ZUS within the Platform of Electronic Services (PUE) project, and therefore we actively participate in the process of introducing new functionalities. At the same time Softiq implements for the MRiPS such projects as Central Information System for Social Security (CSiZS) and Empatia Information and Service Portal (PIU-Emp@tia). The task of our teams was to prepare an application wizard in the PIU-Emp@tia system and to create a mechanism of transferring the applications created (in the CSIZS system) to the ZUS system.

In total, we have implemented more than a dozen changes that took into account not only the new rules of the 500 plus program and RKO, but also we have introduced appropriate modifications in the context of another benefit that will come into force on April 1 and is related to funding of children attending nurseries. But we will write about it in one of the next articles.

This post is also available in: Polski (Polish)