Abstract
Since their establishment in 1999, the Open Pension Funds (OPFs) have comprised a mandatory capital pillar in the pension system of Poland. The paper`s objective is to analyze the principles under which the OPFs function and assess their past and anticipated future impact on the state of the country's public fnances, particularly on the public debt. The analysis also considers the past and potential effects of the OPFs existence from the point of view of future levels of old-age pension. The studies are targeted at determining the threats connected with further maintenance of the OPFs from the point of view of both public fnance stability and pension system security.