With labor shortages caused in part by the emigration of two million skilled workers, the government wants to dramatically reduce the number of people retiring early, thereby reducing the cost to the state of their pensions and bolstering the labor market. They are also introducing a new bridging pension program to encourage people to remain in the work force by reducing payouts to those who choose to retire early. The goal is to increase labor force participation for those aged 55 and over from 28 percent to 40 percent in the next eight years.
See "Stay on the job longer, Poland to tell older workers", Gabriela Baczynska and Pawel Florkiewicz, International Herald Tribune, March 5, 2008