THE EFFECT OF THE SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION ON THE LEVEL OF RETIREMENT PENSIONS IN POLAND (Wplyw zmiany systemowej na wysokosc swiadczen emerytalnych w Polsce)

The authors start with the presentation of two retirement systems: before and after the reform. They show how pensions are calculated in both systems. The article examines changes in the replacement ratio resulting from the 1999 reform of the Polish pension system. Retirement benefits are estimated for eight hypothetical individuals, men and women, with different levels of earnings. As retirement benefits are the function of, among others, the future life expectancy, the paper illustrates the differences in estimates resulting from the application of two different life table perspectives: period and cohort. The deficit of the state-controlled pay-as-you-go component (the 'first pillar') of the pension system is estimated under the assumption that the calculation of benefits involves the current period life tables of the Central Statistical Office (GUS).