Tall inflation at the end of 2021, it meant that in March retirees will receive the record indexation of pensions in recent years. It is already known today that the government estimates included in the budget act for 2022 were very cautious and assumed an indexation at the level of 4.89%. Looking at November’s inflation of 7.8 percent, it is safe to estimate that valorization will be over 6%. and can reach even 6.5 percent. The final indexation index will be known at the turn of January and February 2022.
In 2021, the government decided to pay out two additional benefits in the form of a minimum pension. In 2022, the so-called 13, the retirement pension paid in April will be transferred again to old age and disability pensioners. Its amount is not known yet, but it will be a bonus of over PLN 1000 net. In 2022, the 14th pension, which appeared once in November 2021, will no longer be paid. The government has recognized that the benefits of the Polish Deal for retirees are so great that there is no need to pay this type of benefits anymore. It is worth emphasizing that such benefits are detrimental to the pension system, and the funds spent on this purpose are better used for higher percentage indexation.
The changes introduced by the Polish Order for retirees are positive information for the majority of beneficiaries. People with pensions up to PLN 2,500 a month will not pay PIT at all, while people with higher benefits will pay the tax on the surplus. Retirees will still pay the health contribution, and by changing the mechanism of the health insurance contribution, people with higher benefits above PLN 4,500 gross will have lower benefits, which means that they will lose on the Polish Lada. The majority of the Sejm members rejected the Senate’s amendments, which introduced a relief for pensioners, compensating them for these losses. Attempts to rectify this situation can be expected in the future. It cannot be ruled out that some of the aggrieved pensioners will attempt to appeal against the introduced tax regulations to the neo-Constitutional Tribunal.
Account and sub-account indexation
Looking at the data on inflation, among others, it is worth noting that the consequence of the price increase in the past year will be a high indexation of the capital of funds accumulated by insured with ZUS on the account and sub-account. These are funds that go to ZUS from pension contributions each year. As a result, people who are approaching retirement age will have higher pensions in the future. The changes will mostly affect people who are approaching retirement and have already accumulated large capital on their account and sub-account.
