Professionally active families will be able to apply for non-cash support of up to PLN 2,150 to provide care for their loved ones over 75 years of age, according to the draft bill on the senior voucher published on Monday. The new solution is to enter into force on January 1, 2026. However, to receive it, you will have to meet several conditions.
The draft act on the senior voucher was published on Monday on the website of the Government Legislation Center. The person responsible for its development is the Minister of Senior Policy, Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz.
Senior voucher. Assumptions
The project shows that the maximum value of the senior voucher will be PLN 2,150 per month, which will correspond to 50 hours of support services. The senior voucher will not be paid in cash. The task will be carried out by the commune.
The family of a senior who is over 75 years old and has been granted support will be able to apply for new support retirement or pension. According to the project, the condition is that the average monthly benefit for a senior, including the care allowance, should not exceed PLN 3,500 gross in 2026, PLN 4,000 gross in 2027, PLN 4,500 gross in 2028 and, starting from 2029, PLN 5,000 gross. .
Support services are divided into four areas: meeting basic daily life needs, assistance in gaining access to health services, basic hygiene and nursing care or withensuring contacts with the environment. The senior will have an identified so-called the level of unmet needs in basic activities of daily living.
According to the project, the scale of unmet needs will cover four levels and, depending on the number of points awarded, the senior will be able to receive support services for up to 12, 13-24, 25-36 or 37-50 hours per month.
The minimum number of points entitling you to a senior voucher is 11, and the maximum is 60 points. The justification for the project indicated that if, for example, a senior receives 24 points, the commune may grant him or her monthly from 13 to 24 hours of support services as part of the senior voucher. The level of unmet needs will be assessed by a commune employee.
Conditions for receiving a senior voucher
The project provides that the services provided under the voucher will be of a non-medical nature and their purpose will be to support older people in everyday activities. It was assumed that they would complement the current social assistance system (care services and specialized care services) and the health care system (long-term home nursing care).
The person entitled to submit an application for a senior voucher will be the senior's descendants, e.g. children or grandchildren. The condition for granting the benefit is their professional activity.
If a senior's descendant runs a single-person household, his or her income on average in the three months preceding the month of submitting the application cannot be lower than the minimum wage or higher than twice the minimum wage.
In turn, if a senior's descendant runs a multi-person household, his or her income on average in the three months preceding the month of submitting the application, understood as the sum of the income of household members, cannot exceed three times the minimum wage.
If more than one senior lives at the same address, the scope of support will be determined separately for each senior. However, it cannot exceed a total of 72 hours of support services per month.
The detailed method of providing support services, including standards and the manner of their implementation, will be regulated in the regulation.
Support services will not be available to a senior who uses, among others: a supplementary benefit (the so-called 500 plus for dependent persons), from a support service, from a care service in the place of residence, from a neighborhood service, from an institution providing full-day or 24-hour care.
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