Poland's ruling coalition approved the final version of its new retirement legislation this past Friday.

The bill has now been submitted to parliament for consultation, with the first reading planned for this Thursday. The bill will then go to President Bronisław Komorowski for approval.

The key element of the new legislation is the increase of the retirement age to 67 for men and women by 2020 and 2040, respectively. Under the current pension law, Polish men can retire at 65 and women at 60.

However, under the new bill, women could start drawing partial retirement payments at 62 and men at 65, while continuing to work part-time. Those choosing this option would receive lower pension payments when reaching the full retirement age at 67.

Uniformed services would also be affected by the new law – personnel starting service after January 1, 2013 would be able to retire no earlier than after 25 years of service and no sooner than at age 55.

While the ruling Civic Platform has succeeded in coming to an agreement on the pension reform with its junior coalition partner the Polish Peoples’ Party, the opposition still does not support the proposed reforms.

Poland's largest opposition party, Law and Justice, intends to put forth a motion to delay the debate until the next session of the parliament and to hold a public hearing on retirement reform.

Poland A.M.