In the report “Financial support for households 2025: who receives 'social'?” prepared by CenEA, economists note that after 2016, i.e. since the introduction of the 500 plus childcare benefit and its subsequent full popularization in 2019, the approach to financial support for households in Poland has fundamentally changed.
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From that moment on, benefits whose payment did not depend on the household's financial situation and was related to health, disability or living costs became the dominant support instruments. In other words – goes to everyone, regardless of their income.
Over PLN 102.4 billion of aid
Beyond the benefit 500 plus, currently 800 plusPiS also introduced other common additions. I'm talking about 13th and 14th retired. They joined the universal system that has been in force in Poland for a long time care supplementwhich is paid in the same amount (currently PLN 348.22 per month) to all people over 75 years of age – regardless of their health condition, care needs or level of disability.
In total, as CenEA economists estimate, PLN 102.4 billion will be spent on these programs this year. The 800 plus benefit will cost PLN 64 billion, the 13th pension – PLN 16 billion, the 14th pension – PLN 12.2 billion, and the care allowance – PLN 10.2 billion.
Read also: 800 plus helps fight poverty in Poland? Szlachetna Paczka's assessment is clear
Only PLN 23 billion for the poorest
- Of this amount, according to the report, the poorest 20 percent population, will receive only PLN 23 billion. From the 800 plus benefit – PLN 12.6 billion (19.7%), from the 13th pension – PLN 4 billion (22.9%), from the 14th pension – PLN 3.9 billion (29.6%) and from the care allowance – PLN 2.5 billion (24.5%).
- The richest 20 percent population will receive over PLN 17 billion. As much as PLN 12.9 billion (20.1%) from the 800+ benefit, PLN 2.3 billion (13.1%) from the 13th pension, PLN 1.1 billion (8%) from the 14th pension and PLN 1.1 billion (10.9%) from the care allowance.
— Since 2016 and the introduction of 500 plus, more and more benefits have been universal in nature, independent of household income. In connection with a large share of benefits goes to middle-class and income-rich people – notes prof. Ph.D. Michał Brzeziński, economist, employee of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Warsaw, who deals with economic inequalities, poverty and social policy.
What is the reason for the dominance of universal transfers? The economist refers to the statement of the head of the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Geoff Gottlieb. He recently drew attention to no social agreement regarding what level of social spending we want in Poland. According to Gottlieb, fiscal consolidation and changes in income tax will be needed to maintain spending in Poland at the level of Western European countries.
— Fiscal consolidation is never easy. But the discussion must evolve towards the question of what kind of state Poles want? We see that spending is currently at the level of Western European countries – on par with Germany or Italy, but incomes are not keeping pace. So if Poles want to have this level of spending, something has to change in terms of taxes. And if not, something has to change in terms of spending, said Geoff Gottlieb.
He admitted that it is necessary in Poland discussion about trade-offs. – To maintain this level of social benefits, it will be necessary to change the tax structure – he admitted directly.
A political tool
Professor Michał Brzeziński noted that since 2016, thanks to PiS, social transfers began to be used as a political tool aimed at attracting voters. — As research shows, it was successful. In addition, PiS threatened voters that other parties were trying to withdraw the transfers, in a way blackmailing them and forcing them to continue these policies, among others. extensions 500 plus to 800 plus. Such actions result from fear of possible voter anger, he says.
He notes that the current government is making a certain move towards transfers with income limits. He cites widow's pension as an example.
The system cannot keep up with real poverty
On the one hand, we have programs without income thresholds, which ensure that support also reaches people who can do well without it, on the other hand, we have programs with too high thresholds, which means that people in need cannot benefit from them. Magdalena Łukasik, research and analysis manager at the WIOSNA Association, which organizes the Szlachetna Paczka campaign, draws attention to this last problem. As he admits, the aid system in Poland does not keep up with real poverty.
– Central Statistical Office data clearly show that it has appeared since 2023 gray poverty zone — a significant number of people living in extreme poverty do not qualify for social assistance support because their income slightly exceeds the statutory thresholds for benefits, it says.
Extreme poverty, currently 5.2%, is almost twice as large as statutory poverty. – That means that in Poland, almost a million extremely poor people were not considered poor under protective policies aimed at protecting the poorest. This is because social assistance thresholds grow much slower than the cost of living and are dependent on political will. It's worth mentioning that the highest amount of permanent benefit that can currently be received is just over PLN 1,200 for a person who cannot work. In many cases, it does not correspond to the real costs of running a household. As a result, the aid system does not keep up with real poverty, but it should – says Magdalena Łukasik.
However, he emphasizes that the solution to the problem of poverty does not lie only in social policy laws. — Poverty as a multidimensional problem requires many elements of the support system – one of them is social solidarity. It is also worth noting that stereotypes about poverty are still very common in Poland – we know from our research 34 percent Poles are convinced that people are poor because they prefer to live on social benefits rather than go to work. With such beliefs, it is difficult to create a fair and effective support system for the poorest. Meanwhile, for example, data from the Regional Center for Social Policy in Krakow for 2023 indicate that the most frequently indicated reasons for providing support in Małopolska are long-term or severe illness and disability. Health problems now account for over 80 percent. decision to grant aid – admits Magdalena Łukasik.
