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Polish MPs back cash boost for pensioners

26.05.2023 23:00
Polish lawmakers on Friday backed a plan to give pensioners an extra cash boost every year, a move pledged by the country's ruling conservatives as part of a new package of benefits.
The lower house of Polands parliament, the Sejm, in session in Warsaw on Friday, May 26, 2023.
The lower house of Poland's parliament, the Sejm, in session in Warsaw on Friday, May 26, 2023.Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

The measure, dubbed "the 14th pension," passed in a 436-12 vote with six abstentions in the lower house of parliament, state news agency PAP reported.

The legislation now goes to the Senate, the upper house of Poland's parliament, for further debate.

The vote came after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said earlier this month that his government had approved a proposal to make the payouts on a regular basis.

Previously, the government made decisions on whether to offer the “14th pension" on a year-by-year basis, according to officials.

The new cash boost will be offered once a year and be equivalent to the minimum monthly pension of PLN 1,588 (EUR 350, USD 375), Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg told reporters.

The payouts are part of an ambitious new set of spending pledges unveiled by Poland’s governing conservatives during a party convention in mid-May.

The Polish prime minister has said that regular cash boosts for pensioners are “a milestone in improving quality of life" for senior citizens.

According to government estimates, some 8.3 million Polish seniors will be eligible for the extra payments.

In 2020, Polish pensioners began receiving an annual bonus known as the "13th pension."

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP