Deputy Labor Minister hits out at NIK report hinting at reduced pensions

Deputy Labor Minister Krzysztof Pater has criticized a report by the Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) that claims pension payments may be significantly reduced. The NIK suggested that men's pensions would be calculated at 60% of their final pay check prior to retirement, whereas women were likely to get just 39% at maximum. Rejecting the claim, Pater said it was currently impossible to produce an accurate assessment of the value of future pension payments. In another development, the Social Security Administration (ZUS) yesterday moved closer to paying back state debt to private pension funds, by producing an estimate of the value of back premiums and interest. "After a detailed analysis, we estimated back premiums at zl.5.5 billion and interest at zl.1.8 billion," ZUS spokesperson Anna Warchol explained. The government had said it would not unveil the long-awaited debt payment plan until ZUS had counted how much it owed to the country's 19 private pension funds. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 5; Reuters) A.K.