The head of MRiPS confirmed in the program “Politic graffiti” on Polsat News that widow’s pension is part of her resort’s plans. She besides mentioned a civilian task on this matter, which was tabled in the Sejm. The widow's pension task for a long time has been a key component of the elder policy of the Left. The commitment to improve the situation of widows and widowers was besides included in the coalition agreement between KO, the 3rd Road and the Left.
800+, ceremony allowance and widow's pension, benefit for mothers and fathers returning to work "Active Parent", increases for the budgetary sphere, support for people with disabilities – for all this there will be money in the budget prepared by the coalition government 15... pic.twitter.com/YHAav0adeh
— A. Dziemianovich-Bąk (@AgaBak) December 21, 2023
"We never let go. The applicable institutions have already been informed that they must work on specified changes, we are ready and we are getting to work," she assured.
Dziemianowicz-Bąk, asked about the financing of the widow's pension from the budget, explained that after its introduction, the benefit would not be paid immediately in full. Instead, the amount of widow’s pension would be gradually increased until it reached the planned level.
"From the budgetary side, it will be possible to start the introduction of widow’s pension in the rolling model so that this benefit increases from year to year", explained the Minister.
What is widow's pension?
According to the proposal of the Left, the widower would be entitled to the full pension and to half of the benefit that the deceased spouse received. There would besides be an alternate – the anticipation of retaining half of his own benefit and full retirement of his deceased spouse.
This solution allows the choice of the most cost-effective option. The benefit would be a recalculated pension with an allowance. However, the widow's pension, calculated according to the fresh rules, must not exceed 3 times the average pension, which presently amounts to PLN 2545 according to ZUS data, which gives the maximum amount of widow's pension 7635 PLN. After valorisation in March 2024, whose rate is projected to be 12.3%, this amount will increase to about PLN 8 500.
