Polish parliament has 'no time' to take up president’s draft retirement bill
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
22.09.2015 17:51
The speaker of Poland's lower house of parliament has said there is insufficient time prior to the 25 October general election to take up President Andrzej Duda’s draft bill to lower the retirement age.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda at a press conference on Tuesday in Erfurt, Germany, after meeting ten of his European counterpartsPAP/Jacek Turczyk
“[The Polish President] expressed hope that the bill will be enacted in this term of the Sejm,” Speaker of the lower house of parliament Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska said, noting that members of parliament have only one working session (23-25 September) and one session for amendments (8-9 October) left.
Kidawa-Błońska said that Duda, as a former member of the Sejm, should be aware that it cannot take on such a large bill.
She also claimed that the bill carries with it financial consequences and that it should be thoroughly assessed.
A bill put forward by the senior coalition partner Civic Platform in 2013 increased the age of retirement to 67 for both men and women, from 60 for women and 65 for men.
The bill allowed for a ‘partial retirement’, where women could draw part of their pension at 62 years old, if they have worked for 35 years, and men at 65 years, if they have paid insurance for 40 years.
On Monday, the Polish president, who was an MEP of opposition party Law and Justice before being elected in May, submitted a draft for lowering the retirement age back down to 60 for women and 65 for men.
Andrzej Duda said that “it gives a right to a pension which means that if someone reaches the retirement age and wants to take a pension he or she can, but they can also continue to work if they are able to or seek further professional fulfilment.”
Opinion polls indicate that the Law and Justice party may win a majority in both the Sejm and Senate, the upper house of parliament, in next month's elections. (ua/nh/rk)