The Impending Overhaul of Poland’s Retirement Age: Experts Warn of Systemic Strain

As life expectancy rises and the workforce shrinks, experts argue that Poland must eliminate the five-year retirement age gap between women and men to safeguard future pensions.

The Case for Equalizing the Retirement Age

Current regulations in Poland allow women to retire five years earlier than men, at ages 60 and 65 respectively. According to Prof. Agnieszka Chłoń-Domińczak of the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, this gap should be eliminated. She warns that longer life spans, shrinking labor resources, and the benefit calculation method mean that maintaining the current model will cause growing problems for future retirees and the pension system itself.

How Career Length Shapes Payouts

The retirement age directly impacts the size of benefits, which depend primarily on indexed contributions, initial capital, and average life expectancy projections. ZUS emphasizes that the timing of retirement carries significant financial weight, with an additional year of work potentially increasing future pensions by roughly 8 to 12 percent.

Demographic Shifts and Life Expectancy

Recent Central Statistical Office data shows continued growth in life expectancy, reaching 75.37 years for men and 82.48 years for women born in 2025. Prof. Chłoń-Domińczak notes that if Poles continue retiring at current ages despite living longer, accumulated pension capital will have to finance increasingly extended payout periods.

Employment Realities for Older Women

The European Commission highlighted in its 2026 report on Poland that employment rates for individuals aged 55 to 64 lag behind European Union averages, with an even wider gap among women. Only 48.3 percent of Polish women in this age bracket were employed in 2024, a figure linked directly to the lower statutory retirement age.

Controversy Over Child-Rearing Proposals

Proposals to tie the retirement age to motherhood, introduced by Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńskiej-Nałęcz, have drawn criticism from Prof. Chłoń-Domińczak. She argues that linking retirement to family status could deepen existing economic disparities by penalizing women who already face career gaps due to childcare.

Mounting Pressure from an Aging Population

Poland had 7.39 million retirees in 2024, accounting for 19.7 percent of the population. ZUS projections forecast this number to climb to 10.6 million by 2060, while the overall population simultaneously contracts, heightening the urgency for extended professional activity.

European Context and Additional Savings

As other European nations progressively raise or index their retirement ages, experts stress that future seniors in Poland must look beyond state pensions. Supplementary savings vehicles like PPK, IKE, and IKZE, alongside longer workforce participation, will be vital to financial security.