July 2024
31Jul

The Bulgarian Pension System: Caught Between Adequacy And Sustainability

By Jean-Jacques Hallaert During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulgarian authorities increased pensions substantially to support pensioners’ living standards and aggregate demand. These increases have become permanent and improved the adequacy of pensions. However, not matched by revenue measures, they have widened the deficit of the pension system. Reforms that increase the incentives to contribute to the pension system and thus revenue would improve the financial sustainability of the pension system and reduce fiscal risks. Source SSRN

July 31, 2024
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November 2023
17Nov

Bulgaria Boosts Minimum Pension to BGN 580

A significant shift in Bulgaria's pension landscape is on the horizon, as the minimum pension for service and age is slated to surge by 11% under the Swiss rule, reaching BGN 580 starting July 1, 2024. Alongside this increase, widow's supplements are also expected to see a rise, as per insights from "Sega." Effective January 1, there's an uptick in the maximum insurance income to BGN 3,750, marking a nearly 10% rise. However, the pension ceiling remains unchanged, capped at...

November 17, 2023
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June 2022
29Jun

Bulgarian minimum pension will rise in July

Parliament finally approved the minimum pension to reach BGN 467 (EUR 240) as of July 1st. From this date, the maximum pension rises to BGN 2,000 (EUR 1,026). From October 1, the ceiling will rise once again - this time to BGN 3,400, which is the amount of the maximum insurance income. After parliament finally approved an increase in the minimum and maximum pensions from July 1st, Social Policy Minister Georgi Gokov confirmed that payments for the increase are still likely...

June 29, 2022
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June 2021
01Jun

Bulgaria Is Ageing Fast, 31 Percent of Population Will be over 65 in 2070

The Bulgarian population is ageing and this will cause major problems in the payment of pensions in the coming years. The share of people over the age of 65 relative to the total population will increase from about 21% in 2019 to 31% in 2070. This is written in the Country's Convergence Programme, which was recently sent to the European Commission, informs Trud daily. The Bulgarian pension system faces serious demographic challenges, the document says. Forecasts from the European statistical...

June 1, 2021
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May 2021
25May

Dutch manager APG forms joint venture to help ABP invest in Chilean forests

Dutch pensions provider APG formed a joint venture on behalf of its largest pension fund client to invest in forests in Chile. On behalf of the €495.3 billion ($601.5 billion) ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands, APG formed the company with British Columbia Investment Management Corp. and South American investment bank BTG Pactual's timber investment group. BCI has C$171.3 billion ($141.4 billion) in AUM. The new venture will invest $385.5 million in forestry in Chile, owning more than 80,000 hectares of Chilean forest across...

May 25, 2021
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24May

Bulgaria. Average Salary shows significant growth and pensions with it

The average salary registered over 10 percent growth year-on- year.On the other hand, the share of remuneration from work in the overall household budgets has shrunk, while the share of incomes from pensions and social benefits has grown. Despite the reported growth of the average salary up to BGN 1,500, this does not apply to all sectors of the economy. Traditionally, the highest incomes are in the information and communication technologies and in the health sphere - due to the...

May 24, 2021
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January 2021
05Jan

Bulgaria. State Will Further Support Pensioners and Families with Children

In April, Bulgarian retirees with a pension ranging from BGN 300.01 up to BGN 369, which is392 000 people, will receive additional BGN 120 for food. That would cost the state budget about BGN 47 million. With this BGN 120 they will have the opportunity to buy whatever they need, the money is targeted specifically for food products. This is what Minister of Labor and Social Policy Denitsa Sacheva told The Monitor daily. "We chose this group of people because they...

January 5, 2021
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December 2020

04Dec

How Pension Payments Will Change for 150,000 Bulgarians

154,000 pensioners with smaller pensions because of insurance payed to a private pension fund will be able to ask the National Insurance Institute to recalculate their pensions next year, provided they transfer their money for a second pension to state insurance institution. However, only one-third of people will benefit from it, for the rest the pension received will not be higher. For a third of pensioners, the transfer of the money to the National Social Security Fund will increase...

December 4, 2020
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November 2019

07Nov

Bulgaria and Azerbaijan Sign Pension Agreement

The Minister of Labor and Social Policy Bisser Petkov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Sahil Babayev signed a Pension Agreement between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, the Social Ministry press center announced. The signing of the document took place today in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. Before the ceremony, Minister Petkov met with Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov. The pension agreement will regulate work insurance in both countries, as well as the procedure for granting and paying retirement and old-age pensions,...

November 7, 2019
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05Nov

Bulgaria. New proposal for the minimum pension

CITUB proposed the minimum pension to be increased by 14 percent or from BGN 219.43 to BGN 250 as of July 1, 2020. In this way, 850,000 retirees will receive this increase and will feel that this time the government, parliament and society are being empathetic and concerned, CITUB said. The CITUB has estimated that the additional cost for this measure is not negligible - about BGN 80 million, but it is fully achievable. "And the social and even political...

November 5, 2019
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