The Law and Justice Party's position is that the current solutions guaranteeing the right to a pension for women aged 60 and men aged 65 and over, as well as the required insurance length of service (20 years for women and 25 years for men), should be maintained.
PiS opposes raising the mandatory retirement age to 67. Instead, Law and Justice supports measures that favor extending working hours beyond the legal retirement age for those who are willing and able to work.
We support voluntary employment of able-bodied people beyond the legal retirement age. Working beyond the legal retirement age is a choice and a right, not an imposed compulsion - regardless of family conditions, health, fitness, ability to work and employability.
The position of Law and Justice is the result of an in-depth analysis of the situation, which shows that the life expectancy of Poles, the state of their health, including healthy life expectancy, fitness, as well as projected changes in Poland's demographic situation do not justify extending the retirement age, both for women and men.
Extension of the retirement age cannot take place under the existing conditions: the poor state of health and health care services, the poor state of labor conditions in Poland, the poor living conditions of many Poles, the widespread poverty in many communities, high unemployment among both the young and the elderly, the lack of work for the disabled, the spread of "junk" contracts and "black market" employment.
The Law and Justice Party cannot accept the extension of the retirement age for men and women, as the change is not supported by any substantive rationale. Particularly difficult to accept is the leap An increase in the retirement age for women.
Comparing Poland with Western European countries in justifying the change is unfounded, as the average life expectancy, health status, working conditions and income of Poles are incomparable to the situation in Western countries.
One of the arguments against raising the retirement age is also the acute lack of care institutions for the youngest, oldest and disabled. The care of dependent family members in Poland is very often provided by women, which requires those in power to facilitate women's ability to shorten rather than lengthen their working lives.
Law and Justice points to those issues in the social security system that need to be addressed consistently and urgently:
- Immediate replacement of the forced participation of the insured in Open Pension Funds with a voluntary choice,
- Immediately remove the limitation on the collection of social security contributions for the highest income earners,
- Reducing social security contributions from people starting work and doing internships, reducing the scale of employment on so-called "junk" contracts, which will increase revenues to the Social Security budget, as well as increase the chances of employment for older people (50+), effective fight against employment "in the black" (without a contract, without insurance),
- Development and implementation of effective programs to combat unemployment, especially for young workers and those in older groups (50+),
- Developing and implementing a program for the employment of graduates from all levels and types of schools, which can stop the mass economic emigration of Poles;
- Development and implementation of a program for the professional and life stabilization of the younger generation, which can have a positive impact on demographics and the labor market,
- Reduction of social security contributions by 50 % for 24 months for those taking up their first job.
The Law and Justice Party supports holding a popular referendum on raising the retirement age, as this is a change that deeply interferes with the social, professional and, above all, the lives of millions of Polish families. Poles have not had the opportunity to express their position on such an important issue for each of them, as the PO and PSL election program did not include an announcement to raise the retirement age.
