The President thanked all responsible persons for having enacted this amendment. As he said, that day is a birthday gift for him.

‘I always say that when I can hear from an ordinary Polish family at the end of my presidential service that this quality of life has improved, that it is better, that they live more safely and peacefully, shortly speaking – they are wealthier and live more comfortably, I will think that my primary goal has been accomplished,’ said the President of Poland Andrzej Duda.

He also stressed that ‘the family and the upbringing of children are a very important part of state policy’. ‘Children are our national good – it is not only the private matter of parents, it is also the matter of the state so that children and future generation would exist, receive the best possible upbringing in social security and would not live in poverty.’ added the President.

He stresses that benefits supporting the family are ‘a standard in Western European states.’ ‘If we want to go in the same direction, benefits of this kind must exist,’ stressed the President of Poland.

In the opinion of President Duda, the Family 500+ program has revolutionised the life of the Polish society. ‘If we look, for example, at poverty statistics among children, a revolutionary change has happened – poverty has been reduced by over 90 per cent,’ he noted. As he said, ‘we can say that some kind of miracle has happened.’

Vice-Prime Minister Beata Szydło emphasised that Poland is quoted as an example of good family policy by many countries of the European Union.

‘There are countries that imitate our programs and projects, which is a great satisfaction. But the biggest pride and satisfaction comes from the fact that we restored the hope of many Polish families for a decent life. For many Polish families, it is a huge civilisational leap,’ she said.

She added that every citizen has the right to enjoy the benefits of economic growth. ‘The 500+ program is also a developmental program that excellently supports the economic growth of Poland. This means that we managed to combine what was impossible for many people: a social program that is not a cost or expense, but an investment – investment in family, investment in children,’ she said.

The extension of the Family 500+ program onto the first and only child is one of the projects from the “new 5”.

Currently the benefit is granted for the second child and further children. It is paid for the first child only upon fulfilment of income criteria – the monthly net amount of 800 PLN per one person or the monthly net amount of 1,200 PLN for a family with a disabled child.

Upon extension of the 500+ program, it will cover all children until 18 years of age. Children placed in care and educational institutions (aged not more than 18) will also be entitled to the benefit.

Applications for granting the benefit according to new rules (without the income criterion) may be submitted online from 1 July and also to the office or by post from 1 August.

If the application is submitted during the period from July till September 2019, the benefit will be awarded with compensation from 1 July 2019. The submission of the application after 30 September 2019 means that the benefit will be granted from the month of submission without compensation for the previous months (i.e., July and August).

The amended act introduces a three-month time-limit from the day of the child’s birth for the submission of an application for child care benefit for a new born child. The submission of the application within this time-limit will result in granting this benefit with compensation from the day of the child’s birth. Currently, the right to the 500+ benefit arises principally from the month in which the application was submitted.

The amendment will also make it possible to grant, on a continuity basis, a child care benefit to the other parent of the child in the case of death of the parent to whom the benefit has been granted for the period concerned or who died before the consideration of the application.

Today the program is available to over 3.6 million children, i.e., 52% of all children until 18 years of age. According to estimations of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, 6.8 million children will benefit from the program after its extension.