The threshold is PLN 3,410 and help with everyday needs. Senior voucher 2026-2028

The senior voucher is designed to go first to places where there are no services at all, said Minister of Senior Policy Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz in an interview published on Friday on the Wyborcza.biz website. As she indicated, 20,000 people will benefit from the voucher. people.

According to the draft act, the income threshold entitling to use the senior voucher is PLN 3,410. Okła-Drewnowicz explained that this amount is close to the average pension.

She added that in Poland it was still 10 percent. municipalities do not provide care services at all, and 30 percent provides them for no more than 10 people. – That is why this senior voucher is designed to go first to places where there are no services at all – explained Okła-Drewnowicz.

– If we, as a government, see that not all local governments respond to this challenge, the role of the state is to intervene. And we intervene first where it is most difficult, she said.

She noted that a total of PLN 1 billion is planned in the budget for the senior voucher for the next three years. For the next 10 years – 5 billion. The minister reminded that the act had already been adopted by the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers. Okła-Drewnowicz hopes that the government will deal with it at one of the next meetings. – So that it can be submitted to parliament in May and be signed by the president quickly – she added.

Originally, the senior voucher was to be an independent, statutory benefit, granted at the senior's request. The first version of the draft act on the senior voucher was published on the website of the Government Legislation Center in October 2024. On March 10, during the last revision of the National Reconstruction Plan, the assistance program already implemented by the government for people with disabilities was included in the National Reconstruction Plan.

According to the new regulations included in the draft act on the coordination of long-term care and the elderly, the senior voucher will be implemented as part of three-year government programs. Their contractor will be the municipalities. The first program is to be launched in 2026-2028. The total amount of funds from the state budget for its implementation is PLN 1 billion – PLN 100 million in 2026 (the program is to start in the fourth quarter), PLN 400 million in 2027 and PLN 500 million in 2028.

The benefit will be provided to people over 65 years of age. People whose average monthly income in the last three months does not exceed PLN 3,410 will be entitled to it. The income criterion will be subject to annual indexation. The senior voucher will be implemented on the basis of an agreement concluded between the commune and the senior. The agreement will specify the scope of support provided. The draft bill does not specify a maximum benefit amount.

The voucher will be a non-monetary benefit that will ensure that the senior's basic daily living needs are met. The voucher will provide services such as support in preparing meals, moving around, maintaining order, using health services, hygiene and beauty care, and assistance in maintaining contacts with the environment, including intellectual or physical activation. (PAP)

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