Shocking figures: increase in care allowance could blow budget apart

The care allowance currently amounts to PLN 215.84 per month and has not been indexed since 2019.
This benefit is received by over 1 million people, including disabled people (with varying degrees of disability).
People with a significant degree are to receive a support benefit) and people who are 75 years of age or older
The lack of an increase in the care allowance (probably until 2028) is motivated by the high costs for the state budget, which amount to almost PLN 2.6 billion per year.
Each increase of PLN 100 would mean an additional annual expenditure of PLN 1.2 billion

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According to 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" this amount, especially considering inflation over the last 5 years, because the allowance itself has not been indexed since 2019.

However, from the perspective of the state budget, the monthly cost of the care allowance is PLN 216,000,000, which is almost PLN 2.6 billion annually. In 2023, the cost to the budget amounted to PLN 2.457 billion, and it is predicted 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.

In responses to parliamentary questions, the date of 2028 was mentioned as the date for the next statutory verification of the benefit amount, which suggests that there will probably be no increase by then.

Although increasing the benefit by a symbolic PLN 100 to PLN 315.84 seems insignificant for the recipient, 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.

The expected - as reported - benefit value of PLN 515.84 would involve significant expenses, and due to budget problems Poland currently does not have such funds .

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What about care allowance? No money in the budget to increase the benefit

The lack of a pay rise - writes Infor - primarily affects the interests of disabled people with mild and moderate disabilities.

The care allowance is available to:

a disabled child,
a disabled person over 16 years of age with a certificate of significant disability,
as well as 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,

where 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),
and then to 700,000 in 2026 (cost PLN 955 million)
and 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.