Senior policy, concern for the safety of the elderly, including financial ones, is a duty of the state. It is also the embodiment of the idea of intergenerational and social solidarity. We do not look at outlays for seniors' programmes solely as costs, it is not a spreadsheet table. This is a real support for the budgets of millions of Poles. Seniors deserve a dignified autumn of life, says Minister for Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg. 

Safety first

The Minister reminds that in 2023, the so-called 14th pension has been permanently included in the catalogue of benefits for pensioners, which guarantees the payment of it regardless of circumstances. In addition to the 14th pension, support for the elderly is also provided by the 13th pension paid from 2019 and guaranteed by law, as well as a favourable valorisation of pension benefits, for which the government has allocated a historic PLN 44 billion this year.

Figures from the Ministry of Family and Social Policy show that a total of around PLN 196.55 billion has been allocated for the valorisation and payment of the 13th and 14th pensions between 2019 and 2023. And yet, that is not all, as the Law and Justice government in 2019 has also introduced a so-called maternity pension, granted under the Mother 4+ programme.

These include lower taxes and zero PIT for pensioners. The group of people eligible for free medicines has also been extended to include senior citizens over 65. Previously, it was 75+. This is a major change that will leave money in the pockets of many Polish seniors that was previously spent in pharmacies.

Activity at a premium

At the Ministry of Family and Social Policy, we are also placing great importance on creating an age-friendly space that offers a variety of activities, from physical and educational ones to social and intergenerational integration. The Ministry's Senior+ and Active+ programmes, which are an important part of the country's senior citizenship policy, serve this purpose. This kind of action enables older people in Poland to participate more fully in the life of their local community and to feel important and needed, says Minister Marlena Maląg. 

Thanks to the Senior+ programme, new Day Care Centres and Clubs for senior citizens are being set up. Through participation in activities organised at the facilities, senior citizens have opportunities to develop their physical, mental and social potential and to meet their peers. Between 2015 and 2022, approximately 1,200 support centres have been established in Poland. More than 28,000 seniors benefit from the programme.

In turn, the main objective of the Active+ Programme is to increase the participation of older people in all areas of social life, by broadening their participation in active leisure activities, involving senior citizens in the labour market and strengthening sustainable intergenerational relations.

By 2025, half a billion PLN will have been allocated to these programmes, points out Minister Marlena Maląg. 

Bridging pensions

The amendment to the Act on bridging pensions means that such benefits will also be available to those who do not have seniority in special conditions before 1 January 1999. As a result, the right to such pension will be acquired by a much larger group of people.

The repeal of the expiring nature of these benefits is also an important change. This, in turn, is likely to increase the attractiveness of performing work in special conditions and of a special nature, as younger workers will become eligible for a bridging pension.

These are extremely important and socially demanded changes. We were able to work out these solutions together with the Self-Governing Trade Union ‘Solidarity’. We are listening to the voices of the Polish people, to the voices of different communities and we are doing our best to respond to their needs, emphasises Minister Maląg. 

'We do not save at the expense of the Polish people’

As the head of the family ministry points out, all of this – financial support, activity support, as well as care for less independent seniors – is aimed at providing them with safety and security, a sense of belonging, a sense of dignity. The elderly who have worked and built the Polish economy for many years, who have brought up successive generations of Poles, just simply deserve it.