Mateusz Morawiecki announced the plan at a news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The prime minister told reporters: “Today the Cabinet approved a proposal to convert the '14th pension' into a permanent cash boost that will be paid out every year.”
“It’s a fundamental change,” he added.
Previously the government made decisions on whether to offer the “14th pension" on a year-by-year basis, according to news outlets.
Morawiecki noted that his government in 2020 "made the 13th pension permanent."
He also told reporters that earlier this year the government offered the "biggest-ever" pension adjustment and free medicines for senior citizens, the PAP news agency reported.
Moreover, pensions of up to PLN 2,500 (EUR 555) a month are now tax-free, the prime minister added.
"Next year, free medicines will be made available to new senior age groups,“ following an announcement on Sunday by Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, Morawiecki said.
‘A milestone in improving quality of life for seniors’
The prime minister told reporters that “solidarity between generations must be manifested in real policy steps,” claiming that his government’s recent policy initiatives for seniors “help counteract … surging prices and high inflation.”
Morawiecki said making the “14th pension” permanent was “a milestone towards improving quality of life and ensuring a decent life for our grandmas and grandpas, to whom we should be grateful.”
Cash boost for 8.3 million pensioners
Meanwhile, Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Maląg told reporters the once-a-year “14th pension” would be equal to the minimal monthly pension of PLN 1,588 (EUR 354), public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Maląg added that people drawing a pension of up to PLN 2,900 (EUR 646) would be eligible for the full “14th pension,” while those with bigger pensions would receive proportionately less.
According to government estimates, some 8.3 million people will be entitled to the “14th pension,” including 6.8 million people who are set to receive the full amount.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, gov.pl