Authors: Joanna Adamska-Mieruszewska, Łukasz Dopierała

Title: Pension system: challenges and reforms – the case of Poland

Abstract

In the 1990s, after the economic transition, Central and Eastern European countries have faced significant problems with aging societies. Fertility rates dropped, life expectancy increased, the inverse old age dependency ratio decreased. Defined-benefit systems were not efficient anymore. One of the first country that changed the pension system was Poland.The reform was launched in 1999, when a defined contribution DC system was introduced. New system consisted of three pillars – two mandatory and one voluntary, all based on DC scheme. Since 1999 polish pension system was changed several times. All reforms slowly diminish the importance of the private pillar. The most important reform was launched in 2014, when the capital part became voluntary.

The aim of this article is to present the current situation of the polish pension system, including the latest reform, its assessment in the opinion of international institutions and the impact on the long-term sustainability. The paper presents the implications of the reform for the future pension beneficiaries and their pension awareness. The article also presents the results of a survey conducted by authors on young people from the northern region in Poland, which analyzed the long-term propensity to save and opinions on the polish pension system.