A new form of Polish occupational pension schemes: Prospects for development

Aim/purpose – Occupational pension schemes are products which seem to create the opportunity for better retirement provision. In Poland, they have not gained a great popularity so far, but now, Polish pension system stands at the threshold of change as the draft law on occupational capital plans has been presented by government and delivered for public consultation. Therefore, the main goal of the study is to answer the question if this new form of occupational pension schemes is a chance for a stimulation of voluntary pension savings. Design/methodology/approach – The aim of the study has been realised by a critical analysis of current solutions applied in Poland as well as a comparative analysis of solutions applied in European countries, where occupational pension programmes have already succeeded. The paper is mainly of a theoretical and review nature. Findings – The identified opportunities and threats related to the draft law support the view that occupational capital plans can become a stimulus for a development of supplementary pension system, nevertheless, they still need some amendments. Therefore, some recommendations have been indicated in the work. Research implications/limitations – Chosen European countries are all characterised by a different social security model and they represent different pension welfare worlds, therefore, they cannot be treated as models which could be blindly copied (differing conditions of each country should be taken into account). Originality/value/contribution – Among many discussions on occupational capital plans based on political views, the work provides the reader with a content-related evaluation based on facts (previous Polish and foreign experience). It can contribute to the discussion on the development of voluntary pension schemes in Poland and other countries.