Government administration sections

The Act of 4 September 1997 on governmental administration sections (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2512, and of 2023, item 2029) defines the tasks and powers of competent ministers, inter alia, in various spheres related to the social security.

According to the Act (Article 31(1)), the social security section falls under the competence of the minister in charge of social security and covers issues related to:

• social insurance and social provision,
• old-age pension funds,
• social assistance and benefits for persons and households in a difficult material and social situation,
• counteracting pathologies,
• government programmes in the area of social assistance, in particular for persons and households in a difficult material and social situation, as well as for groups threatened with social exclusion,
• social benefits, employment, social and vocational rehabilitation of people with disabilities,
• social economy, social entrepreneurship, including social cooperatives,
• combatants and victims of repression,
• coordination of social security systems, except for health benefits in kind.

Most of the space in the study Social security in Poland is devoted to social insurance and benefits paid out by the Social Insurance Institution.

The chapter on social assistance describes cash benefits and other forms of social assistance.

The rural development section falls under the competence of the minister in charge of rural development. The scope of this section covers, inter alia, social insurance of farmers. In this area, the minister in charge of rural development cooperates with the minister in charge of social security. In our study, we take a closer look at the principles of the social insurance system for farmers.

The health section covers, inter alia, issues of medical care and public health, including organisation of health care, supervision over medicinal products and medical devices, treatment in health resorts and coordination of the social security systems in the field of health benefits in kind. This section falls under the competence of the minister in charge of health issues. We present some of these issues in the chapter on universal health insurance.

The family section covers, inter alia, issues related to the protection of and support for families in a difficult material and social situation, in particular families with children. It falls under the competence of the minister in charge of family issues. The chapter on material support for families describes, inter alia, family benefits.

The problems of employment and counteracting unemployment are covered by the labour section, administered by the minister in charge of labour issues. In our study we describe benefits in respect of unemployment.

The minister in charge of internal affairs supervises the pension provision system for officers of the Police, the Internal Security Agency, the Foreign Intelligence Agency, State Protection Office, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Border Guard, the Marshal Guard, the Government Protection Bureau, the State Protection Service, the State Fire Service, the Customs Service and the Tax and Customs Service.

The pension provision system for professional soldiers falls under the competence of the minister in charge of national defence.

The social provision system for judges falls under the competence of the minister in charge of justice, and the social provision system for prosecutors falls under the competence of the General Prosecutor.