site.btaExperts Discuss Pension System at Debate Organized by Continue the Change

Participants discussed Bulgaria’s pension system and fair pensions at a debate organized by the Continue the Change (CC) party here on Monday. The discussion, titled “Young Families and Incomes,” was part of a series of debates held under the motto “A Strong Bulgaria in a Strong Europe.”

“Fair pensions - fairness is an interesting concept,” commented CC Chair Assen Vassilev.

During the debate, Vassilev presented data from the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) on the funds from which pensions are paid. The number of pensioners currently stands at 2.066 million, down from 2.180 million, and remains relatively stable. Between 2016 and 2025, the average pension has tripled, while the minimum pension has increased fourfold. In 2025, the minimum pension is BGN 8 below the poverty line, the data show. The number of pensioners receiving pensions below the poverty line has fallen from 660,000 in 2016 to 285,000 in 2025. The minimum pension replaces about 53% of income.

Miroslav Marinov, Executive Director of Pension Assurance Company Doverie and a member of the Investment Committee of the Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies, noted that Bulgaria’s pension system has three pillars and that they should not be set against one another. He said the second pillar has generated solid returns in recent years. In Bulgaria, 25% of employed people are not fully compliant with their contributions to the universal pension fund.

Atanas Katsarchev, Chief Economist of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, said that a roadmap for pension reform should have been developed. The key question is how to balance the system, which requires extensive calculations and a broad discussion focused on protecting rights, rather than acting at the last minute, as happened with the budget, he explained.

“If we look at the increase in pensions in 2021 in absolute terms, the number of insured persons rose,” Assen Vassilev recalled. “There was also a significant increase in incomes, which outpaced pension growth, and as a result contributions to pension funds increased,” he added.