The first panel, in which Minister Marlena Maląg took part, was devoted to the problems of demography and the elderly. Its topic was "From Silver to Gold Economy - Seniors as the country's socio-economic potential".

Activity in all areas

The key to staying healthy, fit and well into old age is to be active in all areas: physical, intellectual and social. 

For six years the Law and Justice government has been pursuing a consistent and systematic pro-family policy, taking into account the elderly, in order to meet these requirements - said Minister Maląg. - To this end, the Ministry of Family and Social Policy creates and runs a number of programmes. We base them on intergenerational solidarity, as we can learn a lot from our seniors - the Minister explained.

Since 2015, the Ministry of Family has been implementing the government programme "Senior+", thanks to which Senior Homes and Clubs have been established throughout Poland. - At the beginning there were 98 of them, today we have 1,100, and this year another hundred will be opened. These are places to meet, to have joint activities and conversations, to spend time actively - explained Minister Maląg. Another government programme is "Aktywni+", addressed to non-governmental organisations. Each year the Ministry allocates a total of PLN 100 million for these two programmes.

Next year, we are planning to launch pilot intergenerational houses where the oldest and the youngest will meet - the Minister announced.

She recalled the experience of the Solidarity Assistance Corps for the Seniors, in which young people are massively involved.

Work or benefit

Professional activity is also very important.

The very low unemployment rate of 5.1 percent creates free space in the labour market. The Law and Justice party's restoration of the retirement age gives people a choice: they can continue working if they feel up to it. This is encouraged by the PIT-0 for seniors and the income tax reduced from 17% to 12% - said minister Marlena Maląg. She also assured that there is no question of raising the retirement age.

- For those who decide to end their careers after reaching retirement age, we provide financial security by pension indexation and payment of 13th and 14th pensions - Minister Maląg concluded.

Parent-friendly labour market

This was the title of Minister Marlena Maląg's speech during the first day of the Vision for Development Forum. The Minister emphasised that it was impossible not to talk about the family, which is the foundation of a strong state and the main area of activity for Law and Justice.

We are consistently implementing pro-family programmes for which our predecessors lacked ideas and resources - the minister said. - Only thanks to the government programme "Rodzina 500+ ", since April 2016, more than PLN 200 billion have already reached Polish families. We introduced other programmes: "Dobry start", "Mama 4+", we are developing the "Maluch+" programme.

We are building a broad coalition in favour of families, with the participation of the government, which finances activities undertaken by local governments and NGOs, and in cooperation with employers - the Minister explained.

Changes at work

When preparing the 'Demographic Strategy 2040' at the Ministry of Family, we conducted extensive research on what young people need to start a family - the Minister said.

Housing policy came first. Therefore, the government provided guaranteed housing loans and runs housing programmes together with local authorities.

Another important thing was childcare. This is where the family care capital and subsidies for nursery care help.

A parent-friendly labour market is also very important. 

With such a low unemployment rate, employers are looking for employees and many women would like to continue their careers after their parental leave - the Minister said.

This is facilitated by the solutions already present in the Labour Code concerning flexible forms of work, and soon to be added are provisions regulating permanent remote work, which proved its worth during the pandemic.

Minister Marlena Maląg also added that the financial stability of families is supported by the growing minimum salary and the minimum hourly rate, as well as the increasing average salary.

Families also benefit from the investments undertaken by local governments, to which PLN 30 billion has recently been transferred - the Minister concluded.