The report presented by the Central Statistical Office indicates that both income and expenditure are growing in the households of people aged 60 plus and retirees and pensioners. Importantly, the improvement of the financial situation manifests itself not only in numbers, but also in the subjective assessments of the respondents themselves. However, the positive trends cannot be considered stable. - Already 227 thousand. of people receive pensions lower than the minimum guaranteed by the state - alarms the president of ZUS. Why?
Report of the Central Statistical Office en titled "The situation of households in 2022 in the light of the results of the household budget survey" brings interesting data, among others on the standard of living of households of retirees and pensioners, as well as all households with at least one person aged 60 or older. Researchers pointed to the common features of the income and material situation of all three types of farms, but also explored the differences that appeared.
Seniors form or contribute to a significant part of Polish households. As many as 1/3 we find only retirees or disability pensioners. In 2016, it was exactly 35% of all private households, and 82% of this group were retired households.
At the same time, almost half of households in Poland include at least one person aged 60 or older, and 1/4 consists only of people in this age group (including retirees and pensioners from the 60+ age category) ). Here is how their financial situation looks like.
Income of seniors is growing, but not equally
The data presented in the report give an optimistic picture. As the authors of the study emphasize, in the years 2004-2018 the financial situation of all households in Poland was systematically improving. Recently, the improvement has also been made in the living standards of seniors - but not all of them. This is related to the persistent relatively high differentiation of average monthly income and expenditure among the five socio-economic groups identified in the GUS survey, i.e. employees, farmers, self-employed outside agriculture, retirees and pensioners.
Retirement pension: what is it and who is en titled to it?
Sickness pension: to whom is it due and how much is it?
Marital pension: who is en titled to it and howget?
Analysts also point out that the systematic decline in income disparities per capita in Polish households, measured by the Gini coefficient, clearly slowed down after 2004. Unfortunately, inequalities between individual socio-economic groups in the coming years will, unfortunately, increase.
Place of residence is a factor that clearly differentiates the dynamics and structure of income and expenditure of all households in Poland.
Disproportions are visible both between voivodships and between towns of various sizes in the same voivodships - mainly along the city-village line, but also between smaller and larger cities.
And so, the average monthly disposable income per capita in urban households is higher by 29.9% than in rural areas, and the difference deepened year on year (28.8% in 2022). These disproportions result both from the sum of incomes obtained by individual households and the number of people included in the household - on average higher in rural areas. At the same time, spending per person in a household in the city is on average 34.5% higher than in the countryside - what is more, it has increased year-to-dock (from 32.6% in 2022).
On the other hand, in terms of territoriality, i.e. by voivodship, the average total household income (i.e. not only for seniors, retirees, pensioners) is higher than the national average in the following voivodships: Mazowieckie (here the highest result, on average, as much as PLN 2032 per person - 20.0% more than the national average), moreover in the Śląskie, Dolnośląskie, Pomorskie and Zachodniopomorskie voivodeships.
The lowest average disposable income is recorded in the Podkarpackie voivodship (PLN 1,347 - 20.4% less than the national average). The difference between the highest and the lowest average income per person in individual voivodships in relation to the national average is therefore 40.4 percentage points. - no noticeable change year on year (a decrease by 0.7 percentage points compared to 2022).
What about expenses? Higher than the national average for all households (not only seniors) is recorded in the following voivodships: Mazowieckie (and here the highest result, on average PLN 1,421 - 19.7% more than the national average), and also in Pomorskie, Śląskie, Dolnośląskie , West Pomeranian, Lodz and Opole regions.
The lowest average expenditure per person is again in the Podkarpackie Province (PLN 960 - 19.1% less than the national average). The gap between the highest and lowest average level of expenditure per person per individualvoivodships is therefore 38.8 percentage points. - year on year, it decreased slightly (by 1.9 percentage points compared to 2022).
In the light of the results of the CSO research, significant differentiation in the dynamics and structure of income and expenditure is also introduced by the presence of a disabled person in a given household.
The average monthly disposable income per capita in households with a disabled person is 15.5% less than the national average, and this difference is deepening year by year (from 14.4% in 2022).
At the same time, among these households, more than a half (51.8% - no change year on year) of the average monthly disposable income per capita is income from social benefits, while in other households social transfers account for 27.5% of income . In households with at least one disabled person, the monthly expenditure is also lower than the average - the difference is 14.0%, so it increased year on year (from 13.1% in 2022).
It is clearly better for pensioners, not so much for pensioners
In the households of retirees, the disposable income (i.e. the sum of current income from all sources less advances for due taxes and social and he alth insurance contributions) amounted to an average of PLN 1,733 per person, and the amount of expenses - PLN 1,297.
Thus, expenditures accounted for 74.8% of disposable income. All these indicators were more favorable than the average for the general public (income PLN 1693, expenses PLN 1187 - i.e. 70.1% of income), and compared to the other categories distinguished in the study, these values were second only to self-employed persons outside agriculture (income: PLN 2012 , expenses PLN 1,400 - 69.6% of income).
The share of retirees was also the highest year-to-year real increase in income among the groups distinguished in the study (by 4.4% compared to 2022), slightly higher than the average (4.3%), and, moreover, the highest the share of income from the main source of income (82.7%), which indicates that there is no need to earn extra money for the pension.
For pensioners - some of whom are people aged 50 plus or even retirement age, but without the en titlement to these benefits - the situation is clearly worse. In the case of households of disability pensioners, the lowest level of the average disposable income per person was found - PLN 1,355.
You can see a significant discrepancy in relation to the average retiree's income, but at the same time an increase year on year (from PLN 1,296 in 2022). At the same time, the expenditure of pensioners' households amounted to PLN 1,141 per capita, which means the smallest surplus (the difference betweendisposable income and the sum of expenses) from among the 5 analyzed groups. Unfortunately, it was not offset by a slight increase in expenses year on year (from PLN 1,132 in 2022).
The share of expenditure in disposable income in households of disability pensioners, despite the desired drop year on year (from 87.4% in 2022 to 84.2% in 2022), is the largest among all groups. This unfavorable proportion can most probably be explained by spending on he alth care (medicines, rehabilitation equipment, services of physiotherapists, etc.).
What is alarming, the low disposable income of disability pensioners is increasingly moving away from the average income of Poles in general - in 2022 it was lower by 18.9%, in 2022 by as much as 20.0%. This means that disability pensioners - despite the indexation of pensions by the same rate as in the indexation of pensions - do not participate in the redistribution of the effects of the currently recorded economic growth.
As mentioned above, the quantitative research (registration of all income and expenditure of households participating in the research) was accompanied by qualitative research - a questionnaire interview concerning, inter alia, subjective current own material situation by persons belonging to these farms.
For several years, these ratings have been systematically improving, which is also evident in the research from 2022. On the one hand, the share of households is increasing, assessing their situation as very good or rather good (44.0% of households in total against 37 , 2% in 2022). On the other hand - a decrease in the share of those who perceive it as rather bad or bad (8.1% against 11.2% in 2022).
With regard to retirees, the data is also positive, especially due to the trend of improving these ratings. Of these, 34.1% assess the situation of their households as very good or rather good (an increase from 27.7% in 2022), 55.3% - as average (a slight decrease from 58.3% in 2022). , and 10.6% - as rather bad or bad (a decrease from 14.1% in 2022.
It is different for pensioners who evaluate their own financial situation as the worst among all 5 socio-economic groups distinguished by the researchers. However, the trend of improving ratings within this group of households is positive. 18.1% of the respondents described their financial situation as very good or rather good (increase from 14% in 2022), as average 58.0% (increase from 56.7% in 2022), as rather bad or bad - 23.9% (down from 28.8%).
It is worth emphasizing here that, similarly to the structure and dynamics of disposable income and expenses, also the subjective assessment of the financial situation of one's own household is significantly related to the place of residence. People living in the countryside generally evaluate theirs worsesituation than inhabitants of cities, especially the largest (from 500,000).
And here, however, an improvement is noted as compared to the previous year. In 2022, the situation of their households was described as very good or good by 53.0% of respondents from cities with a population of 500,000. or more inhabitants and 39.3% of respondents from rural areas. In 2022 it was 44.5% and 32.6% of GUS respondents, respectively.
It is easier for seniors to come together than alone
What is the situation in households with at least one person aged 60 or more? In general terms, the average monthly disposable income per capita in this category was lower by only 1.0% than the national average (for all households in Poland) and the average for households without the elderly.
Farms created exclusively by people aged 60+ were characterized by disposable income per capita higher than the average for farms without seniors by as much as 15.5%. This indicator is related to the smaller number of these farms and the fact that each of their members (usually one or two) has their own source of income - mostly a retirement pension. A less positive thread is, in turn, the higher than average (in relation to all households in Poland) share of expenditure in the amount of disposable income, characteristic for households created exclusively by seniors. So many introductory remarks, now let's take a look at the details.
In households with at least 1 person aged 60 plus in total (i.e. single or multi-person households, with the participation of only seniors or also younger people), the disposable income amounted to PLN 1,676, and expenses to PLN 1,164 - 69.4% of the income. There is a year-on-year improvement in key parameters (in 2022, income was PLN 1,585, and expenses PLN 1,172 - 74.0% of income), and the situation of these farms does not differ much to the disadvantage or from the national average (parameters slightly better - income PLN 1693, expenses PLN 1187 - 70.1%), nor than the average for households without older people (here indicators slightly better - income PLN 1705, expenses PLN 1203 - 70.5% of income).
Data on households created exclusively by people aged 60 plus both married couples and other forms of cohabitation (informal couples, siblings, etc.) are clearly more favorable. due to the lack of costs related to the upbringing and education of children (these costs affect the per capita result in households of extended families).
Here, the disposable income is PLN 1,970, and expenses PLN 1,501 - 76.2% of the income. Admittedly, the share of expenses inthe income here is higher (which is less favorable) than the aforementioned national average, but noticeably lower than last year (80.2% in 2022). With the increase in income (from PLN 1,889 in 2022), the amount of expenses also decreased (PLN 1,515 in 2022), which means greater savings on these farms.
It is worth noting that in their analyzes of households created exclusively by people aged 60 and more, GUS analysts distinguished subcategories of single and double households. What do we learn about them?
In the case of seniors living alone, the disposable income is slightly lower than the average for all households 60+ and amounts to PLN 1,963 (an increase from PLN 1,889 in 2022), and the sum of expenses is clearly higher - 1,640 (a slight decrease from PLN 1,651 in 2022). The share of expenses in income in this group of people is exceptionally high. It amounts to 83.5% (a favorable decrease from 86.9% in 2022) and is second only to the rate recorded in households of disability pensioners (84.2%).
As usual, the situation is better in households of seniors living in two (in a marriage or any other cohabitate, including siblings, cousins, etc.), where some of the fixed fees are divided into two - e.g. rent or property tax , heating costs, part of the costs of electricity, gas, internet, cable TV, etc. The sum of expenses per capita is therefore much lower here both than the average for seniors living alone and than for the total of seniors' households - it amounts to PLN 1,435 (unchanged compared to 2022). At the same time, disposable income per capita is slightly higher here, on average, amounting to PLN 1,978 (an increase from PLN 1,886 in 2022), and the share of expenditure in income reaches 72.6%, which means a clear drop year on year from 76.1%.
Will these positive trends persist? Yes, but it is not known for how long. It is worth emphasizing that the current - relatively favorable - financial status of retirement farms is directly based on the current level of benefits, which will decrease on average in subsequent years.
President of the Social Insurance Institution prof. Gertruda Uścińska, in an interview for Rzeczpospolita 2, warns: "The number of people who have not accumulated throughout their career the capital ensuring the benefit at the level of the minimum retirement pension, nor have they accumulated the period of insurance entitling them to such a minimum retirement pension (…)" - currently amounting to PLN 1,100. How many people receive benefits below this amount? "Among the entire population of retirees in the general system, currently amounting to approx. 5.7 million people, as many as 227 thousand beneficiaries receivesuch a retirement. This number has been growing dynamically - nine times over the last eight years ", stresses Uścińska anxiously and points out that this unfavorable trend will undoubtedly only worsen.
What else does the CSO research show?
The report presented in May 2022 presents the so-called signaling information. More complete and detailed data on households created or co-created by seniors (including the structure of expenses and the standard of housing equipment with durable goods) will be included in the next study. Nevertheless, here we also find some additional noteworthy threads.
One of them is that the largest usable space per 1 person was found in the households of pensioners (40.9 m2) and retirees (38.6 m2), which is related to a smaller number of people in a given house or apartment - mostly children. For this reason, the smallest area per person are households of hired employees - a significant part of people bringing up children (24.2 m2).
Other - that a significant proportion of disabled people who particularly need various types of amenities in their homes, in the light of research, not only do not have access to them, but even have to face a lower standard of living. Households separated on the basis of the criterion of living with a disabled person turn out to be worse equipped with durable objects (especially technologically advanced devices) than households without such people.
A passenger car was used by 57.7% of households with a disability, 69.4% had Internet access, and 58.9% had a smartphone. For farms without people with disabilities, all these indicators turn out to be clearly higher - they amount to 68.0%, 76.9% and 69.3%, respectively.
How was the research conducted?The data presented in the GUS report come from the annual analysis of household budgets of Polish residents. The survey is representative - it covers approx. 37 thousand. private households from all over the country, selected from a total of 13.5 million private households in Poland in such a way that the sample equal to approx. 0.3% as a whole it reflected the demographic, socio-economic structure of the entire population. In a special notebook, the farms selected for the research record all income and expenses for a month.
The figures are supplemented by information collected in the form of a questionnaire interview. Thanks to the interviews, we get to know, among others subjective assessments of the financial situation of people from the surveyed farms.
About the author
Paweł DombrowskiPolitical scientist, graduate of interdisciplinary studiespolitical science and sociology studies in the field of social policy (Faculty of Journalism and Political Science, University of Warsaw). In journalism, he deals mainly with the broadly understood subject of gerontology.
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