More solid indexation of pensions and annuities. An idea for a new mechanism
The government increases the amount of pensions and annuities every year because in the face of price increases they lose their purchasing power. There is a new idea for modifying this important mechanism.
The obligation to index ZUS benefits results from the law, so the government must find funds for this every year. At the turn of June and July, it announces preliminary assumptions, and in February it provides a specific indicator according to which ZUS will increase benefits for seniors in March.
The first estimates show that in 2027 the increase will not be large – only by 3.48%. The minimum pension will increase only by PLN 68 gross (approximately PLN 61.88 net), but a scientist from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow argues that it does not have to be this way.
Quantity and percentage indexation mechanism. Change for seniors
Dr. Łukasz Wacławik, a social security expert, argues that the government could modify the indexation mechanism and introduce amount and percentage increases. Thanks to this, a larger amount will reach seniors’ wallets.
Poles are currently dependent on percentage indexation, which means that the higher the pension, the more noticeable the increase in benefits. But if the pension is low, the postman will bring little more to retirees after indexation. This means that the increase in benefits will not compensate for the growing expenses, which is the purpose of indexation.
An expert from AGH proposes a different mechanism – amount and percentage increases.
PLN 20 more according to the new indexation. Higher minimum benefit
According to Dr. Wacławik, all ZUS benefits can be increased by the inflation rate, but the lowest ones would also increase by the amount, e.g. 25 or 33%. real wage growth.
According to Fakt.pl, if the quota part was set at the level of inflation and 33%. real wage increase, such a minimum, guaranteed increase could amount to PLN 90 gross next year, i.e. approximately PLN 82 net per month. Seniors would then realistically receive about PLN 20 more per month.
Benefits up to PLN 2,600 gross would increase by this amount, and higher benefits only as a percentage, which would be more beneficial for seniors.
President Karol Nawrocki proposed yet another solution – a guaranteed increase of PLN 150 gross for the poorest seniors. “Poland in the 21st century deserves the lowest pension to be at least PLN 2,000 and this project aims to achieve this,” he explained, submitting the bill to the Sejm.
If the act came into force quickly, in 2026 the minimum pension would be approximately PLN 2,030.
