EU concerned over Poland reviving different retirement age for men and women

European Commission, is concerned that reintroducing a different retirement age for men and women in Poland could violate the bloc's equality rules. “The Commission has concerns about the changes in the Polish statutory pension system which might be incompatible with EU law. Equal treatment between women and men is a key pillar on which our Union is based,” the European Commission wrote in a letter to Poland’s labor minister Elżbieta Rafalska. Back in December last year, Poland lowered the retirement age to 60 for women and 65 for men, from the previous 67 for both sexes. The Commission noted that a small number of European Union countries still had a gender gap in retirement ages, and while they are not required to change their laws immediately, the EU expects them to take steps towards equality. The Commission explained in its letter to Rafalska that, while countries were not obliged to legislate for equal retirement ages immediately, a permanent exemption from the general aim of reaching gender equality on social protection was not possible.