This voivodeship is a haven for seniors. Every third resident is over 60 years old

If the forecasts are true and in about 40 years our country will be inhabited by almost 12 million people over 60 years of age, they will constitute about 38.3%. general population. For comparison: in 2005, people 60+ constituted 17.2 percent. population. Research conducted in 2022 showed that this percentage increased to 25.9%.

The fewest seniors in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship

The share of older people in the total number of inhabitants varies in individual regions. In the years 2022-2021, the highest percentage of residents aged 60+ was in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship – almost every third resident was in this age group. In second place was the Łódź Voivodeship, where seniors constituted 28.6%. population.

The “youngest” region of the country is Małopolska, where the percentage of older people in 2022 was the lowest: 23.9%. general. What else do statistics say about the “geography” of the century? Older people live much more often in cities (64% of older people, according to the Central Statistical Office report “The situation of older people in Poland in 2022”) than in villages.

Raising the retirement age – is it a step in the right direction?

The growing number of older people is a challenge for the pension system, which is based on contributions from professionally active people. The fewer Poles “contribute” to the system, the fewer funds there will be that can be distributed among retirees. One solution (which also seems justified in the context of longer lifespan) is to raise the retirement age. However, for many years it will be considered theoretical because there is no public support for such an idea. The demand to raise the retirement age is political suicide for any party that dares to formulate it. The Civic Platform found this out when, over a decade ago, it equalized (up) the retirement age for women and men.

Prof. spoke in a balanced tone about raising the retirement age. Joanna Tyrowicz in an opinion for money.pl. “Economics is not about telling people how to live, especially against their individual interests. Economics is there to show us all where we are going,” she wrote.

She added that increasing the retirement age by force was tested in many countries. “The effects are usually dire in the sense that people find ways to circumvent regulations that are unfavorable to them. They take advantage of sick leave, pensions for people with limited physical fitness, finance themselves from sources of income other than paid work, etc. In other words, working time is effectively extended only for those people who actually have no choice – and for those who confidently and they would work longer because they like their job,” we read in money.pl.

We write more about whether raising the retirement age is a step in the right direction in the text below.