The aim of this paper is to present life expectancy of both genders depending on their income and to determine the impact of a possible regularity on the state pension policy. The study was based on the income of pensioners in Poland (over 5 million people receiving old-age pension). The results obtained made it possible to formulate several important conclusions: the rich live longer; the impact of income on life expectancy is much stronger among men than women; and with age, income has less and less impact on life expectancy. Consequently, in the capital model that is in force in Poland, the state should take this fact into account in its pension policy when calculating the amount of the benefit.

Według badania ilościowego Instytutu Spraw Publicznych oraz Millward Brown z 2016 roku, zatytułowanego „Wiedza i postawy wobec ubezpieczeń społecznych”, młody wiek jest istotną cechą towarzyszącą niskiemu poziomowi wiedzy o ubezpieczeniach społecznych. W artykule poddano analizie odpowiedzi biorących w niniejszym badaniu osób w wieku 15–24 lata, w których odwołują się do postaw wobec ryzyka starości. Opracowanie wieńczą rozważania na temat potrzeby przeprowadzenia interdyscyplinarnych badań na temat skutecznego podnoszenia poziomu świadomości ryzyka ubezpieczeniowego wśród młodej części polskiego społeczeństwa.

The Polish social insurance system is a part of the social security scheme. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland imposes on the state an obligation to create such system and to fulfill social security guarantees for every citizen. Participation in the social insurance system, and thus insurance coverage in the field of the consequences of social risks, is strictly dependent on the fact of performing a gainful activity on the principles set out in the social insurance act (among others: work under a contract of employment or under a civil law contract and conducting business). The legality of employment and the employer fairness on the one hand, and the effectiveness of control authorities of state institutions on the other hand, are two driving engines of the insurance guarantee. Responsibility for providing such insurance protection lies between the institutional activities of the state and the individual foresight of the citizen. It is on his/her side that knowledge about social insurance plays a very important role as an element of risk awareness. The act on the social insurance system imposes on the Polish executive institution in the area of social insurance (the Polish social insurance institution, ZUS) the obligation to popularize this knowledge. The purpose of the article is the attempt to indicate the scope of a minimum knowledge of social insurance, which will allow a citizen to make a conscious participation in the system, i.e. effective protection against the results of the possible risks.