Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visits patients at “Senior+” Day Care Centre in Błonie
28.10.2021
The government strives to provide special care for the elderly. To ensure their financial security, Polish senior citizens will soon receive their 14th monthly retirement pension. Furthermore, they will be able to benefit from special tax solutions introduced as part of the Polish Deal. During his meeting with the pensioners in Błonie, PM Morawiecki emphasized just how crucial it is to maintain strong ties with older generations: “A tree detached from its roots dies. Our roots, which gave us life and experience, are our senior citizens – the generations thanks to which we are here.”
13th and 14th retirement pension
Polish senior citizens have been receiving a 13th annual pension since 2019, and since 2020 its payout is guaranteed by law. A total of 9.8 million pensioners benefits from this support!
In autumn this year, all eligible persons will also receive additional support in the form of a 14th pension. The Prime Minister emphasized that this initiative stems from the efforts to improve the pensioners’ standard of living. Unlike in the case of the 13th one, only persons whose income is at or below the PLN 2,900 threshold will be eligible to receive the 14th pension. It is estimated that around 8 million people will receive a 14th pension in full.
Tax-free pensions
The government strives to increase the lowest retirement and disability pensions – since 2015, the minimum pension has increased by 43% and currently amounts to PLN 1,250.88.
Furthermore, the tax changes planned to be introduced under the Polish Deal programme will benefit as many as 90% of Polish pensioners. The new bill assumes that no income tax will be paid on monthly old age and disability pensions that do not exceed PLN 2,500.
Starting from 1 January, the elderly will also be able to take advantage of the PIT-0 programme and thus avoid paying income tax, which will save Poland’s senior citizens as much as PLN 500 million.
“Supporting the elderly is a goal that we will pursue for as long as we remain in power”, said the Prime Minister.
Active retirement – programmes for the elderly
The Błonie Day Care Centre operates thanks to the Senior+ programme. The Prime Minister emphasized that he was happy that there are more and more places where seniors are treated with compassion. This is made possible by government programmes aimed at making life better for our parents and grandparents.
The Senior+ programme supports local government units in creating and operating day care centres and clubs for the elderly. This has produced the following tangible results:
- Thanks to financial support totalling PLN 340 million, 970 new care facilities were set up between 2015 and 2020.
- More than 23,000 senior citizens have taken advantage of their services.
- By the end of this year, a further 113 new facilities able to accommodate over 2,500 seniors will be set up as well!
Encouraging the elderly to stay active – Active+ programme
The Senior+ programme is not the only initiative aimed at helping the elderly. The 2014-2020 period also saw the implementation of the Programme for Social Participation of Senior Citizens. Abbreviated as “ASOS”, the programme allowed NGOs to request funding for projects related to senior citizen activity. A total of 2,700 projects involving 1.4 million senior citizens were carried out during its course.
This year, Active+, a new multi-year programme for the elderly, has been initiated as well.
PLN 40 million will be allocated to the Active+ programme each year. More than 300 various initiatives are planned to be implemented by the end of this year alone!
