Increasing life expectancy – the impact on old-age pension benefits

The demographic changes currently observed in European markets have an important effect on the stability of pension systems and the amount of old-age pension benefits. One of the most important changes is increasing life expectancy, which will significantly affect the amount of old-age pension benefits. These old-age pension benefits come from both the statutory and the voluntary parts of the pension system and are the main source of income for most elderly households. The reduction of these benefits as a result of increasing life expectancy is a major threat to the financial situation of retiree households. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of increasing life expectancy on old-age pension benefits from both the statutory part and selected forms of the voluntary part of the pension system operating in Poland. To achieve this aim, life annuity calculations were used. The results obtained clearly indicate the impact of increasing life expectancy on the amount of benefits received by elderly people, in particular from the compulsory part of the pension system. In the case of selected voluntary forms of the voluntary part of the pension system, the possibility of differentiating benefits based on gender has a significant effect on the amount of these benefits.