site.btaVazrazhdane Economists Suggest Returning BGN 3 Bln Private Pension Funds to State Social Security System

The BGN 3 billion going to private pension funds must be returned to the state social security system to reduce the deficit, said economists Lyubomir Hristov and Viktor Papazov in front of reporters when asked about changes that need to be made to the 2026 draft budget. The two economists were in Parliament for an open debate organized by Vazrazhdane on supplementary pension insurance. However, the scheduled discussion with the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies did not take place. 

Hristov commented that the draft budget should remove the 2% increase in insurance contributions next year, followed by another increase the year after, with the 5% currently diverted to private pension funds being returned to the National Social Security Institute. This would generate an additional BGN 3 billion without raising social security contribution rates or increasing the retirement age, he pointed out.  

He noted that diverting funds from the State Social Security for management by pension companies increases the deficit of the National Social Security Institute by 1.4% of GDP and, consequently, the budget deficit.