Opodatkowanie emerytur w Polsce na tle rozwiązań w państwach Unii Europejskiej

As a result of the ageing of the population of European countries, an increasing percentage of people achieve income in the form of pensions. The aim of the article is to present the principles of taxation of pensions in Poland and to compare them with the countries of the European Union as well as to show the impact of tax solutions on the finances of retirees’ households. To achieve the goal, the method of analysing the literature on the subject, legal acts and statistical data was mainly used. The tax solutions adopted in Poland do not constitute a sufficient incentive to participate in voluntary pension programmes, and taxation of pensions does not differ significantly from taxation of other sources of income. Pension systems in the EU vary, as do the tax rules applicable in this area. This differentiation, with possible mobility of people, means that, on the one hand, retirees may try to optimise taxation internationally, but on the other hand, they are exposed to great uncertainty as to the applicable rules for taxing their pensions in the future.