“Raising the retirement age at this stage will only deepen the unevenness.” The former finance minister comments on the concept of country development 2050

The pension system should reward those who work. The Polish model, based on the proportionality of the amount of benefit for the work contribution, is the best from the point of view of the economy, the labor market and resistance to demographic changes – the former ZUS chief economist and former finance minister prof. Paweł Wojciechowski.

The concept of country development recently adopted by the Council of Ministers is a government document determining the long -term development directions of Poland, based on the analysis of the likely scenarios of the future. Assumes, among others, that The pension system will have to be adapted to new work modelspromoting longer professional activity and ensuring stable tools for collecting capital for retirement. These challenges result from the progressive decrease in the number of people of working age and staff shortage, including the low professional activity of some social groups.

The document emphasized that “an important element in solving this problem is also the transformation of the social benefit system so that it does not demotivate to be employed. Parallel to this change requires the system of benefits and services related to caring for people in need of support and supporting egalitarian, professionally active parenting, in accordance with the phases of family life.”

Pap asked for a comment on this matter, prof. Paweł Wojciechowski – the former main economist of ZUS and former finance minister.

– In my opinion, it's not about changing the very essence of the pension system. The Polish model, based on the proportionality of the amount of benefit for the work contribution, is the best from the point of view of the economy, the labor market and resistance to demographic changes. The pension system should reward those who work. It is in fact a savings product, used to equalize income in the life cycle – he emphasized.

According to Wojciechowski, the system of benefits should be sorted out first. Some of them are received after exceeding a specific income threshold, which – as he noted – It discourages professional activity and arouses a sense of injustice.

The economist proposed in an interview with PAP The use of the “consensus of liberals and socialists”, which says that the state should guarantee social assistance only to people in non -related deficienciese.g. in the case of disability or low income per person in the household. -Too extensive benefits system, at high tax and contribution charges for people with low income, can discourage work-he added.

The professor also pointed to the need to remoderate the third pillar of the pension systemi.e. voluntary forms of saving supplementary ZUS and OFEs. Individual saving, e.g. under IKE, is associated with tax breaks – including tax exemption on capital gains.

– This is not so much about stability, but about transparency. Few people know how many forms of the third pillar we currently have and how exactly they are different. Many of them are based on similar concessions, differing only in the moment of their use. It is worth consuming and simplified – fewer forms, greater transparency, lower costs and imitation effect among potential saving – he emphasized.

When asked about ways to stop people in retirement age, Wojciechowski noted The need to liquidate the so -called Antibonuses – incentives for an earlier retirement. – An example is the thirteenth and fourteenth pensionwho only receive people who have already switched to the benefit. It is not about the liquidation of these add -ons, but about the introduction of solutions that would not punish people who are professionally active – he explained.

According to the economist, before you try to raise the retirement age, it is necessary to organize the system and limit privileges for selected groups.

– Currently, excessive redistribution is burdened with full -time employees. Until the universal system is actually disseminated, the raising of retirement age will only deepen the unevenness – he noted.

(PAP)

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