Work / Moving to Poland, Working for a UK Company [34]

This thread is interesting to me too. I'm a Brit who would like to live in Poland, but the trouble is that I currently have quite a good job with a UK employer and I have family and mortgaged property in the UK which I would like to keep, so I'm keen to maintain my income level. Like many on this thread, the ideal for me would be to continue my work with my UK employer but live in Poland (I work in IT so remote work is entirely practical and supported by my employer, but thus far only within the UK).

Assuming I could persuade my employers that the tax situation wasn't such a big problem (P85 form etc.) what's the situation regarding visas and residence permits? From what I understood from my previous research into this, long term visas and residence permits can only be granted if you are actually working for a company in Poland, married to a Pole, etc. Would it be possible for a foreigner from outside the EU who has the means to support himself, but doesn't actually work for a Polish company to live there?

And looking more long term... what would be the state of play regarding retirement to Poland? (i.e. having the means to support oneself (pension) but being a foreigner from outside the EU?). Is it possible to get permission to stay under such circumstances?