site.btaBulgaria to Receive Russian Pensions for Q1 in March, Russia’s Social Fund Says

Russia’s Social Fund will transfer Russian pensions for the first quarter of 2026 to recipients in Bulgaria in March, the fund’s press service said Tuesday, with payments routed through the relevant institutions for onward transfer to pensioners’ bank accounts.

The fund said Russian pensions for Q1 have already been transferred to Estonia and Latvia, with the money sent to the relevant agencies in those countries for distribution to beneficiaries. Transfers to Lithuania and Bulgaria are also scheduled for March.

In late December, Bulgaria’s National Social Security Institute (NSSI) said it had received payment statements and funds from Russia’s Pension and Social Insurance Fund for pensions due to Russian citizens living in Bulgaria. Under the existing agreement, once the required technical processing is completed, NSSI proceeds with payments to eligible recipients. The institute previously said that since the beginning of 2025, pensions to Russian citizens in Bulgaria had not been paid because Russia had not transferred the funds.

NSSI also said that Lithuania has funded pension payments to its beneficiaries in Russia, with the money already credited to their bank accounts. Funding for pensions from Estonia is expected soon.

Under the applicable rules, Russia’s Social Fund makes quarterly transfers to recipients abroad, routing payments through the relevant national institutions for crediting to pensioners’ personal bank accounts.