Poland will save millions from new rules that cut state benefits for former communist security service officers, the country’s interior minister has said.

Thousands of former officers of the country’s feared communist-era security services will have their pensions cut under the new rules, which took effect on Sunday.

According to Interior Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, the move will affect around 39,000 and save Poland about PLN 500 million (USD 137 million, EUR 116 million) a year.

Under the law, the maximum pensions and disability benefits for former security service employees will be no higher than average state payouts.

“This is what justice is all about,” Błaszczak said on state television on Saturday.

When the government debated plans to cut payouts at the end of last year, Prime Minister Beata Szydło told reporters: "Today we are restoring social justice."

She added: "Today, a quarter century after the collapse of the communist system in Poland, those who were officers serving a criminal system still get lavish, very good pensions” that are often much higher than state pensions for the people they oppressed during the communist era. (gs/pk)

Source: PAP