Polish senators OK cash boost for pensioners
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
12.04.2019 14:13
Polish senators on Friday backed a plan to give pensioners a cash boost, a move pledged by the country's ruling conservatives as part of a new package of benefits.
The upper house of Poland's parliament, the Senate, is in session in Warsaw on Friday. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
The measure passed in a 81-1 vote with two abstentions in the upper house of parliament, state news agency PAP reported.
The legislation, which was earlier overwhelmingly approved by the lower chamber of Poland's bicameral parliament, now goes to the president for signing into law.
A total of PLN 10.7 billion (EUR 2.5 bn, USD 2.8 bn) in additional handouts will be paid out to more than 9.7 million pensioners in May under the government’s “Pension Plus” initiative, Elżbieta Rafalska, the minister for family, labour and social policy, told a news conference last month.
The payments will be offered on a one-off basis and be equivalent in each case to the minimum monthly pension of PLN 1,100 gross, Rafalska said.
The payouts are part of an ambitious new set of spending pledges unveiled by Poland’s governing conservatives during a party convention in late February.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said that Poland’s pensioners can expect regular annual cash boosts in the future if his ruling conservatives stay in power.
(gs/pk)
Source: PAP