Restructuring of the Disability Pension Scheme Following a Concept of an Integrated Public Social Insurance System in Poland

Abstract

Abstract The disability pension system in Poland has operated largely unchanged since the 1970s. A compelling need to reform the system and adjust it to the challenges of the 21st century is an axiom in the Polish social policy. Unfortunately, restructuring of this system has never been, and is not a top priority for the Polish government. Ignoring this problem is a headwind against economic growth in Poland as the state is overburdened with significant social taxes. A need for the state to provide subsidies to cover current expenditures of the Social Insurance Trust Fund (FUS) is a permanent concern of the national economy. This paper highlights legislative errors and omissions in the Polish social insurance system, and the share of the state's budget devoted to financing of this system and benefit payments over the years 1991-2018. In the main part of the article, financial aspects of the operation of the pension system in Poland were presented. At the end of the article, a preliminary concept of a reform of the existing disability pension system was outlined, whose aim is in particular to improve its financial effectiveness and introduce uniform rules for the payment of pension benefits in Poland.