Abstract:

In the study, the development of voluntary pension insurance in Poland in the form of individual pension accounts was examined and assessed, using the legal-dogmatic and statistical approaches. The accounts are run by authorised financial institutions on the basis of agreements concluded with natural persons. It has been shown that the quantitative growth rate of new pension accounts and the growth of the value of assets accumulated on these accounts are gradually decreasing. The intended purpose of the research was successfully achieved, which was to show that individual pension accounts, as a pension product potentially available to every citizen, actually arouse the interest of a relatively small group of people with above-average income who have relatively extensive knowledge of the pension insurance market. Moreover, it was determined that state action is necessary to strengthen the tax preferences encouraging more people to voluntarily accumulate savings for pension purposes. The state should also become more involved in the processes of educating the society about the principles of the pension insurance system and about the market risks associated with investments in the financial market.