site.btaVanya Grigorova Announces Campaign against Raising Retirement Age, for Abolishing Maximum Contributory Income

Vanya Grigorova launched a campaign against raising the retirement age above 65, against mandatory contributions to private pension funds and for abolishing the maximum contributory income ceiling at a press conference at the BTA National Press Club here on Tuesday. 
 
Grigorova, chair of the Solidarity Bulgaria association and member of the Sofia Municipal Council, is organizing the campaign together with economist Lyubomir Hristov and former MEP Petar Vitanov. She stated that the petition will be distributed across regional cities and will be submitted to the National Assembly in a month and a half. 

Solidarity Bulgaria also insist on changing the so-called Swiss rule, updating pensions based on contributory income growth and setting the minimum pension at 70% of the minimum wage.

According to Grigorova, raising the retirement age above 65 would be cynical because of the shorter average life expectancy in Bulgaria compared to the EU. She also motivated the idea to abolish the maximum contributory income ceiling of BGN 4,130, which she believes is sparing high incomes from taxation and fueling the shadow economy. 

Furthermore, the campaign will demand that contributions to the second pillar of Bulgaria’s pension system become optional. Abolishing this requirement would immediately increase annual revenues to the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) by BGN 3 billion without raising contribution rates, while also increasing pension income, since state pensions would no longer be reduced, according to Solidarity Bulgaria.