Who can receive a Senior Voucher? Principles, criteria and scope of support

Who can receive a Senior Voucher?

To benefit from the program, it is not enough to be 65 years old. It is also crucial to meet the income criterion - the average monthly income from the three months preceding the submission of the application cannot exceed PLN 3,410. Importantly, this threshold will be indexed every year, which means that as pensions and pensions increase, the availability of the program will also increase.

Applications for the Senior Voucher can be submitted at municipal offices. Local governments will be responsible for organizing support - from accepting the application, through assessing the senior's situation, to determining the scope and number of hours of assistance. The entire qualification process is expected to last a maximum of 30 days.

What support will seniors receive?

The Senior Voucher is not cash that goes to the senior's account, but specific services provided in the place of residence. Assistance includes, among others:

- shopping,

- preparing meals,

- assistance with washing and maintaining hygiene,

- support in dressing,

- assistance in moving around,

- organization of daily duties,

- maintaining social contacts.

The scope of assistance will be determined individually, and the senior will not incur any costs for the support received. This solution is intended to complement other benefits, such as pensions or allowances for people over 65 years of age.

Which municipalities will receive funds first?

The Senior Voucher program will be implemented in stages. First of all, support will go to communes where public care services do not exist or where a very small number of people use them (up to 10 seniors). This is as much as 45 percent of all municipalities in Poland. In the next stages, the program will cover other local governments.

Municipalities are responsible for implementing the program, but financing comes from the state budget. The government allocated almost PLN 1 billion for the first edition.