The Social Insurance Institution pays out pension money to 4.97 million Poles Stockxchg

Even though Poland's population is getting older, the number of pensioners hasn't increased compared with 2009. The Social Insurance Institution pays out pension money to 4.97 million Poles, while in 2009 the number was 5 million.

The situation is much different than it was in previous years. In 2005-2008, the number of Polish pensioners increased by 830,000, with an unprecendented number of new pensioners in 2008 when the state budget had to increase its pension spending by 16 percent, from zł.6.3 billion to zł.7.3 billion.

A falling number of new pensioners is mostly the result of legal changes, which took away certain pension and early retirement privileges from several professional groups. Most notably, the current government did away with early retirement schemes for employees working in harmful conditions.

Economists say that professional activity among people over 55 years of age is becoming more common which translates to significant savings for the state budget.

Poland A.M.