515.84 PLN? No way. The increase is a bomb under the budget
- The care allowance has not been indexed since 2019 and still amounts to PLN 215.84 per month.
- Although the increase would help seniors and people with disabilities, the government has no plans to change
- This benefit is received by over 1 million people, including disabled people (with varying degrees of disability)
- Each increase of PLN 100 would mean an additional annual expenditure of PLN 1.2 billion - writes Infor
The care allowance is a benefit that is received in Poland by over 1 million entitled people, mainly disabled people. The current value of the allowance is PLN 215.84 . Many people believe that it is "only" such an amount, especially considering inflation over the last 5 years, because the allowance has not been indexed for 6 years (since 2019) .
The monthly cost of the care allowance for the budget is PLN 216 million, which amounts to almost PLN 2.6 billion annually. In 2023, the cost for the budget amounted to PLN 2.457 billion, and it is expected that in 2025 it will be PLN 2.596 billion, which means an increase in expenditure by PLN 139 million .
- The government's decision to marginalize the care allowance by not increasing it is closely related to the budget perspective - we read in Infor.
Responses to parliamentary questions have cited 2028 as the next statutory review date for the benefit amount. There is no mention of an increase before then.
Increasing the benefit by PLN 100 to PLN 315.84 seems insignificant for the recipient, but for the budget it would mean an additional annual cost of PLN 1.2 billion.
An increase of PLN 200 would cost PLN 2.4 billion, and an increase of PLN 300 – PLN 3.6 billion.
If the value of the benefit were to reach PLN 515.84, it would involve even more significant expenses, and due to budget problems Poland does not currently have such funds .
The lack of a pay rise primarily affects the interests of disabled people with mild and moderate disabilities, writes Infor.
Who is eligible for care allowance?
- a disabled child,
- a disabled person over 16 years of age with a certificate of significant disability,
- a disabled person over 16 years of age with a moderate degree of disability, provided that the disability arose before the age of 21.
People over 75 years of age can also receive the benefit, even without a degree of disability.
Persons with significant disabilities are to receive a support benefit, the maximum amount of which in 2025 may amount to PLN 4,134 .
It is worth noting that people over 75 who have the status of a pensioner or annuity receive a care allowance, which is higher than the care allowance . Since March 1, 2025, the care allowance has been PLN 348.22 per month and is indexed annually, thus having a guaranteed increase in subsequent years.
An important feature of care allowance is the lack of a set income threshold . Infor points out that this means that, unlike family allowances, the number of people entitled to care allowance cannot be limited by freezing the income threshold.
In the case of family benefits in 2025, the freezing of income thresholds at a low level and the increase in the minimum wage to PLN 4,666 led to a reduction in the number of eligible people by 275,600 - from around 1 million.
According to government estimates, this would save approximately PLN 380-400 million annually in 2025.
The decline in the number of people entitled to family allowance is visible in government data,
- from 1,018,500 people in 2023 (cost PLN 1,391 million), a decrease is forecasted to 742,900 in 2025 (cost PLN 1.11 billion),
- up to 700,000 in 2026 (cost PLN 955 million)
- up to 663,400 in 2027 (cost PLN 903 million).
A similar step, aimed at reducing the number of beneficiaries and expenditure on the care allowance, cannot be taken because this allowance has no income test.
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