‘Paltry Pensions’ in the Context of the Sense of Social Justice and the Goals of Pension Policy. A Multidimensional Sociological Analysis

Funding: National Science Centre, Poland, grant number: 2021/41/B/HS6/04416

Website: https://em.ifispan.pl/english/

The principal objective of the project is to investigate the problem of the so-called ‘paltry pensions’ (emerytury groszowe), i.e. pensions paid by the (Polish) Social Security Institution and lower than the minimum pension, from the perspective of the sense of social justice and the goals of pension policy.

Abstract

The most significant reform of Poland’s universal pension system in recent decades occurred in 1999, shifting from a defined benefit to a defined contribution system. Under the new model, retirement benefits are directly tied to past contributions, and eligibility no longer requires a minimum contribution period – anyone who has ever paid in qualifies. This reform has resulted in the emergence of extremely low pensions. While benefits can be raised to the minimum pension, this requires proving a contribution period of 20–25 years. As of December 2023, there were 396.8 thousand of people receiving pensions below the minimum. They constituted 9.7% of ‘new-system’ pensioners.

Upon the disbursement of the first benefits, public debate began to highlight opinions reflecting diverse attitudes toward the axiological assumptions and the effectiveness of a system that produces such low pensions. Effectiveness, in this context, refers to whether the system meets the objectives of pension policy, which—according to the European Commission – are defined as providing adequate income in old age, ensuring financial sustainability, and maximizing employment. Regarding social justice, the debate primarily focuses on two approaches: the social, solidarity-based formula (‘each person according to their needs’ or ‘each person equally’) and the liberal, individualistic formula, which incorporates a meritocratic element (‘each person according to their contribution’ or ‘each person according to their merits’).

Given this context, we pose the following research questions:

  • What categories of life situations can we distinguish in the biographies of individuals receiving pensions below the minimum? This includes:
    (a) their life pathways (occupational careers, family, health, etc.),
    (b) past strategies for subsistence,
    (c) efforts made toward financial security for later years, and
    (d) their objective living conditions and means of subsistence.
  • Are the legal regulations leading to pensions below the minimum perceived as socially just and effective by pensioners, experts, and the general public? If not, what changes could make these regulations more equitable and effective?

Project tasks include:

  • Analyzing data from the Social Security Institution and nationwide panel surveys (primarily SHARE and POLPAN).
  • Conducting qualitative interviews with (a) individuals receiving pensions below the minimum and (b) experts.
  • Performing discourse analysis of selected parliamentary documents and media reports.
  • Surveying a representative sample to assess knowledge of the current pension system and its evaluation in terms of social justice.

Publications

Wysoczański-Minkowicz, Rafał. 2024. „Sport Careers and Process of Career Termination”. Sport and Tourism. Central European Journal 7(2): 83–102. https://doi.org/10.16926/sit.2024.02.04.

Bieńkowski, Stefan and Danuta Życzyńska-Ciołek. 2023. „Caught in a Matrix of Factors: A Pilot Study of Female Retirees Receiving Below-Minimum Pension Payments.” Qualitative Sociology Review 19(3): 52–72. https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.19.3.03.

Team

Danuta Życzyńska-Ciołek, PhD, Principal Investigator

Danuta Życzyńska-Ciołek

Kinga Wysieńska-Di Carlo, PhD

Short Bio:

Kinga Wysieńska-Di Carlo is a (non-resident) senior research fellow in the CASIN group of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Polish Academy of Sciences. Her research interests include status and legitimacy processes, social stratification and inequality, international migration, and discrimination. She has experience as faculty at major U.S. and EU universities as well as has done research and consulting work for private corporations and non-profit organizations throughout the world. She holds a PhD in sociology from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Research interests:

Status and legitimacy processes, social stratification and inequality, international migration, and discrimination

Contact: [email protected]

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5041-7539

ResearchGate/Academia/Linkedin: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kinga-Carlo / https://pan-pl.academia.edu/KingaWysienska / https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinga-wysienska-di-carlo/

Twitter or any other relevant social media: kwdc.bsky.social

Selected publications:

Wysieńska-Di Carlo, Kinga, and Zbigniew Karpiński. 2024. “Status and Just Gender Pay Gaps: Results of a Vignette Study.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World 10 (January). https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231241227158.

Wysieńska-Di Carlo, Kinga, and Zbigniew Karpiński. 2022. “Theoretical and Methodological Challenges of Studying the Impartiality of Justice Evaluations.” Ask: Research and Methods 31 (1): 69–97. https://doi.org/10.18061/ask.v31i1.0004

Di Carlo Matthew, Wysienska Di Carlo K., Fenelon E., Flood K., Milborn E., Rodrigez, C. 2021. Public and Private School Segregation in New York City. The Albert Shanker Institute https://www.shankerinstitute.org/resource/public-and-private-school-segregation-new-york-city

Karpinski, Zbigniew and Kinga Wysienska-Di Carlo. 2018. “Attitudes towards immigration in Europe 2002-2014: Competition, integration, and values.” In Sztabinski Franciszek, Domanski Henryk, Sztabinski Pawel B. (eds.), New Uncertainties and Anxieties in Europe: Seven Waves of the European Social Survey. Peter Lang International Academic Publishers: Berlin, Germany.

Karpinski, Zbigniew and Wysienska-Di Carlo, Kinga. 2018. “Individual employment histories: Survival analysis of job interruptions based on gender 1988 — 2013.” In Slomczynski, Kazimierz, Kiersztyn Anna, and Danuta Zyczynska-Ciolek (eds.), Social Stratification:  resources, opportunities, and barriers. Polish Panel Survey POLPAN 1998-2013. Warsaw: Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences (in Polish).

Wysienska-Di Carlo, Kinga and Zbigniew Karpinski. 2018. “An Experimental Study of Status Effects on Trust and Cooperation.” SAGE Research Methods Cases.

Di Carlo, Matthew and Kinga Wysienska-Di Carlo. 2017. “Public and Private School Segregation in the District of Columbia.” ASI Research Brief. Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute.

Karpinski, Zbigniew and Wysienska-Di Carlo, Kinga. 2016. “Modelling Social Situations — Trust and Cooperation among Strangers of Unequal Status.” Studia Sociologica VIII (1) (Selected Topics in Experimental Social Science): 117-142.

Wysienska-Di Carlo, Kinga, and Di Carlo, Matthew. 2016. “Self-interest and Welfare Attitudes in Poland.” In Slomczynski, Kazimierz, and Wysmulek, Ilona (eds.), Social Inequality and Life Course: Poland’s Transformative Years, 1988-2013. Warsaw: Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Pp. 147-190.

Wysienska-Di Carlo, Kinga, Di Carlo, Matthew, and Esther Quintero. 2016. “Teacher Segregation in Los Angeles and New York City.” ASI Research Brief. Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute.

Marta Kołczyńska, PhD

Short Bio:

Marta Kołczyńska holds a PhD in sociology from The Ohio State University and is an assistant professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Her research interests include political attitudes and political behaviour, as well as analyses of public opinion more broadly. She is also interested in issues related to the replicability and reproducibility of social science research and has participated in several open science initiatives. She currently serves as associate editor of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research and Survey Research Methods.

Research interests: political attitudes, political behavior, polarization, cross-national survey methods

Contact: [email protected]

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4981-0437

Selected publications:

Kołczyńska, Marta, Paul-Christian Bürkner, Lauren Kennedy, and Aki Vehtari. 2024. “Modeling public opinion over time and space: Trust in state institutions in Europe, 1989-2019.” Survey Research Methods 18(1): 1-19. DOI: 10.18148/srm/2024.v18i1.8119. Supplement: https://osf.io/uyzfe/.

Kołczyńska, Marta and Paul-Christian Bürkner. 2023. “Modeling public opinion over time: A simulation study of latent trend models”, Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. DOI: 10.1093/jssam/smad024. Supplement: https://osf.io/j45er/.

Kołczyńska, Marta. 2022. “The winner takes all the trust: populism, democracy, and winner-loser gaps in political trust in Central and Southern Europe”, Journal of Contemporary European Studies. DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2022.2162486. Supplement: https://osf.io/7j3ua/.

Breznau, Nate, Eike Mark Rinke, Alexander Wuttke, et al. 2022. “Observing Many Researchers Using the Same Data and Hypothesis Reveals a Hidden Universe of Uncertainty”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203150119.

Kołczyńska, Marta and Ireneusz Sadowski. 2022. „Seeing the world through party-tinted glasses: Performance evaluations and winner status in shaping political trust under high polarization”, Acta Politica. DOI: 10.1057/s41269-022-00249-4. Supplement: https://osf.io/f3acb/.

Kołczyńska, Marta. 2022. “Combining Multiple Survey Sources: A Reproducible Workflow and Toolbox for Survey Data Harmonization”, Methodological Innovations 15(1): 62-72. DOI: 10.1177/20597991221077923.

Jabkowski, Piotr, Piotr Cichocki, and Marta Kołczyńska. 2021. „Multi-project assessments of sample quality in cross-national surveys: The role of weights in applying external and internal measures of sample bias”, Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. 10.1093/jssam/smab027. Supplement: https://osf.io/f9g7s/.

Życzyńska-Ciołek, Danuta and Marta Kołczyńska. 2020. “Does Interviewers’ Age Affect Their Assessment of Respondents’ Understanding of Survey Questions? Evidence from the European Social Survey”, International Journal of Public Opinion Research. DOI: 10.1093/ijpor/edaa015.

Jabkowski, Piotr and Marta Kołczyńska. 2020. “Sampling and fieldwork practices in Europe: Analysis of methodological documentation from 1,537 surveys in five cross-national projects, 1981-2017”, Methodology: European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences 16(3): 186-207. DOI: 10.5964/meth.2795.

Kołczyńska, Marta. 2020. “Democratic values, education, and trust in state institutions”, International Journal of Comparative Sociology 61(1): 3-26, DOI: 10.1177/0020715220909881.

Yu-Ting Hsieh, PhD student

Yu-Ting Hsieh

 

The following researchers and doctoral students contributed to the project in previous phases:

  • Radosław Antczak, PhD (Warsaw School of Economics)
  • Stefan Bieńkowski (Doctoral School of Social Sciences, University of Warsaw)
  • Barbara Błaszczak (Doctoral School of Social Sciences, University of Warsaw)
  • Klaudia Wolniewicz-Slomka, PhD (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences)
  • Piotr Drygas (Doctoral School of Social Sciences, University of Warsaw)
  • Ewa Potępa (Graduate School for Social Research, Polish Academy of Sciences)
  • Rafał Wysoczański-Minkowicz (Doctoral School of Social Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań)
  • Remigiusz Żulicki, PhD (University of Lodz)
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