Today the government approved a resolution concerning the annual financial report of the National Bank of Poland and clarified its stance on the Citizens’ Bill, which includes provisions for a widow’s pension.
In a statement released after the Council of Ministers meeting, the cabinet expressed its position on the Citizens’ Bill, which would introduce the widow’s pension. The initiative forms part of the government’s plan to ensure decent living conditions for seniors after the loss of a spouse, while acknowledging that the regulations must be aligned with the state budget’s financial possibilities.
– the press service noted.
Widow’s pension details
The Citizens’ Bill proposes that a widow could either retain their own pension and increase it by 50 percent of the deceased spouse’s survivor pension, or collect the deceased spouse’s survivor pension plus 50 percent of their own benefit.
Currently, when multiple pension and disability benefits are available, the practice is to pay out one benefit. After a spouse’s death, a survivor may choose to keep their own pension or waive it in favor of the survivor’s pension.
The authors of the bill aim to reach a 50 percent ceiling. The benefits would be phased in gradually: 15 percent first, then 20 percent, and finally 50 percent.
At a press conference, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, stated that the cost of this solution would amount to PLN 4 billion in the first year, PLN 9 billion in the second year, and then several billion in subsequent years.
The Council of Ministers will decide on the final rates in due course
– she added.
The financial implications of this project are sizable. The funds would support elderly individuals and those facing difficult circumstances, which is why the government views the expenditure as a worthwhile social policy investment, despite its magnitude.
– Ms. Dziemianowicz-Bąk concluded.
The government has also adopted a bill to create a shorter path for graduates of a uniformed class to join the police and the border guard. The aim is to amend related laws to establish uniformed classes and improve the flow of entrants into these forces.
The new rules allow for a separate qualification process for candidates who apply to serve in the police or border guard within three years of finishing a uniformed profile program (whether general secondary school or technical secondary school), provided an appropriate training program exists.
The government’s stance on the central bank
The government also approved a resolution, among other items, including the 2023 annual accounts of the National Bank of Poland as of December 31, 2023.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced the decision. The statement emphasized the central bank’s independence as a core principle, while noting concern over the negative financial results reported by the NBP for 2022-2023.
It also highlighted concerns about communication regarding changes in the financial result relative to the initial NBP presentation, underscoring that the central bank’s financial outcomes are crucial to the Council of Ministers when drafting the state budget.
Additionally, the minister of finance was instructed to prepare a draft amendment to the NBP Act. The proposed changes would establish a legal mechanism for formal communication between the NBP and the Ministry of Finance during the budget preparation process, addressing the perceived gaps in cooperation.
There is evident political tension surrounding the existence of an independent central bank in Poland. Faced with this reality, the governing coalition faced a volley of criticisms and concerns, though no immediate remedy was offered beyond procedural adjustments.
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