According to BIG InfoMonitor’s Debtors Register, outstanding alimony arrears exceeded PLN 16.9 billion at the end of September 2025. That is more than PLN 800 million higher than a year earlier — and a staggering PLN 6.7 billion increase compared to 2021. The database currently lists nearly 288,500 individuals failing to pay child support, with the average debt per parent now reaching PLN 58,600. The growth rate of alimony-related liabilities remains significantly higher than in other categories of household debt.
Regions with the Highest Concentration of Debtors
The highest share of alimony debtors relative to population is found in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. The largest average debt, however, is recorded in the Mazovian region — PLN 65,300. The relatively lowest arrears occur in the Lubusz (PLN 50,400) and Silesian (PLN 51,600) provinces. The data clearly indicate a structural problem — it is not limited to regions with lower GDP per capita, but affects urbanised areas as well, where undeclared work is more prevalent and enforcement of payments is more difficult.
More Than Half Also Struggle with Other Debts
As many as 52 percent of individuals with unpaid alimony obligations also carry other outstanding liabilities — consumer loans, non-bank borrowing, unpaid utility bills or administrative fines. In practice, this means that failure to pay alimony is often part of a broader pattern of insolvency or evasion of formal employment. The absence of reported income severely limits the effectiveness of enforcement actions and shifts a portion of the financial burden of child maintenance onto the public sector.
State Spending Continues to Grow Despite Fewer Disbursements on Paper
Between 1.9 million and 2.6 million payments are made each year from the Alimony Fund. While the number of beneficiaries has been declining, this is not the result of improved collection rates, but the freeze of income eligibility thresholds. Crucially, since October 2024 the maximum monthly benefit has doubled from PLN 500 to PLN 1,000 — meaning that the programme’s cost to the state budget may double in 2025 despite a formally smaller pool of recipients. Municipalities also incur additional costs while pursuing enforcement actions on behalf of the State Treasury — efforts which frequently prove ineffective.
