In an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on the eve of the United Nations' International Day of Older Persons, Marlena Maląg said the new policies aimed to "build a stable state based on intergenerational ties and solidarity.”
She added that Poland's ruling conservatives, while focusing on parents and children in their family policy, were "not forgetting seniors.”
Senior citizens from all over Poland converged on the central town of Tomaszów Mazowiecki on Wednesday to share experiences and take part in workshops, attend artistic performances and compete in a talent contest ahead of the UN celebration of International Day of Older Persons, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
The event, attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, was billed as Intergenerational Cooperation Day, or Senioralia 2021.
Maląg told Polish Radio on Wednesday that under the government's flagship package of socioeconomic policies for post-pandemic recovery, known the Polish New Deal, "old-age and disability pensioners who earn up to PLN 2,500 a month won’t pay income tax.”
She also said old-age and disability pensions were set to increase by at least 5 percent under the country's 2022 budget approved by the government on Tuesday.
Polish retirees are entitled to an extra pension payout every year, widely referred to as "the 13th monthly pension,” under a law passed by parliament last year.
Moreover, seniors will receive an additional one-off payout, known as the "14th pension," this year under a plan signed into force by the country’s president in early March.
These one-off payouts will see pensioners receive an extra PLN 1,250 (USD 322, EUR 272) in November, though better-off seniors may not get the full amount.
Th Polish prime minister has said the money is intended to make life “a little easier, a little better” for seniors.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP