Polish retirees are increasingly demanding changes in the regulations on pension contributions. Seniors who have reached retirement age and are still working or earning extra money must pay a disability pension contribution, even though they will never benefit from the pension. The Polish Association of Pensioners and Pensioners (PZER) sent a letter to the Minister of Finance, Andrzej Domański, proposing a solution that could provide seniors with additional funds.
Current regulations require working retirees to pay pension contributions. While pension contributions are added to the benefit, annuity contributions do not provide any benefits. Seniors who receive a pension can no longer retire.
“Pensioners from whom pension contributions are collected do not receive any additional entitlements or benefits. They pay contributions without receiving anything in return – neither now nor in the future,” wrote Dr. Elżbieta Ostrowska, chairwoman of PZER, in a letter to the Minister of Finance. The organization points out that this problem has not been solved by any previous government so far, even though seniors have been raising their concerns for years.
Pension and disability contributions. How much could seniors gain?
PZER proposes that pension contributions be added to the retirement account, which would increase the amount of the benefit. According to calculations by the “Fakt” daily, such a solution could bring significant benefits to seniors.
With the minimum wage currently amounting to PLN 4,666 gross, the monthly disability pension contribution (paid by the employee and the employer) is PLN 373.28. If these funds went into a retirement account, after a year of work, the senior would gain an additional PLN 4.5 thousand. zloty. In the case of higher earnings, this amount would be even higher.
|
Gross salary |
Take-home salary |
Profit from disability contributions after a year of earning extra money |
|
PLN 4,666 |
PLN 3,510.92 |
PLN 4,479.36 |
|
PLN 7,000 |
PLN 5,101.67 |
PLN 6,720.00 |
Pension higher due to disability contributions? The government is skeptical about the proposal
Despite appeals from retirees and specific proposals for changes, the government does not seem willing to introduce such solutions. The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy, which responded to this matter, emphasizes that the current regulations are based on the principle of equality of all insured persons.
“The provisions of the Act on the social security system do not exclude from the obligation to provide insurance and pay contributions to employed persons who already have rights due to having reached retirement age or the status of a retiree determined by a decision of ZUS,” explains the ministry.
Source: Fact
