In Poland, families with children are least protected from poverty, but multigenerational households are in the most critical situation.
Up to 35% of Polish households cannot afford going to the cinema or theatre once every 6 months, or buy a monthly ticket, reports Gazeta. This impressive figure was quoted by one of the authors of the report on poverty in Poland. According to him, one of the groups most at risk of poverty are families with children.
Assistance does not seem to work. There are two types of social policy instruments in Poland: either direct payments to certain groups, or creating conditions that help people get out of poverty on their own. So far, irrespective of the political forces in power, both of these instruments have been used, but unfortunately there has been no verification of their effectiveness,” says Katarzyna Bech-Wysocka, GRAPE Institute expert and co-author of a report on poverty in Poland.
According to Katarzyna, the latest data refer to the year 2020. Data relating to the worst period of the crisis, i.e. the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine, have yet to be seen. The problem is expected to worsen. Moreover, the increase in life expectancy and the simultaneous reduction of the retirement age in the next 20-30 years will cause up to 50% of pensioners to fall into relative poverty. At the same time, the income of 80% of pensioners will be so low that they will be able to claim social assistance. Thus, pensioners will be the group most at risk of poverty in the future. Now the length of employment is getting shorter, pensions have to be spread out over a longer period, so they will definitely be smaller. The only option is to supplement these payments with their own savings.
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