Abstract:

 The aim of the article is to review the changes in the pension scheme in Poland in the context of permanent budgetary deficit and accumulating public debt. It should be underlined that the impact of the changes introduced in this scheme on the state of the public finance is considerable. When evaluating the current changes, it can be said that the solutions suggested by the government can be described as choosing between responsibility for the present and responsibility for the future, especially that the influence of demographic changes on economy and the government budget is nowadays connected with two trends, that is with the decrease in the population and its ageing. The authors emphasise that the effects of the current changes in the pension scheme will burden future generations and the sources of their financing, whether in the form of higher taxes, smaller public expenditure or a higher government debt, will depend on the future fiscal policy.