site.btaLawmakers Adopt Balanced Budget for Public Social Insurance in 2018

Sofia, November 29 (BTA) - A balanced consolidated budget for public social insurance in 2018 and a 4 billion leva deficit in the pension scheme were approved conclusively by the National Assembly on Wednesday. Public social insurance budget revenues and expenditures are both projected at 11,067,344,200 leva.

Revenues from social insurance contributions in 2018 are expected to amount to 6,517,626,300 leva, non-tax revenues 55,692,500 leva, penalties 22,600,000 leva, and other revenues 26,252,500 leva.

Transfers from the central executive budget will be a little over 308 million leva. The legislature also approved 4,186,309,300 leva in additional transfers from the state budget to offset funding shortages.

On the expenditure side, pension expenditures will amount to 9,455,866,400 leva. A total of 1,490,000,000 leva has been set aside for welfare benefits and compensation payments. Some 114 million leva will be available for programmes, services and agencies for social insurance, social assistance and employment.

The parliamentary majority defeated motions by the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and BSP For Bulgaria for a larger public social insurance budget.

The MRF proposed both the revenues and the expenditures in the consolidated budget to be increased by 140 million leva. The party's Hassan Ademov, who chairs the National Assembly Committee on Labour and Social Policy, said the MRF's proposal was based on the fact that official statistics put the number of socially insured people at 3.2 million, whereas the number in the proposed budget scheme is 2.7 million. This means that half a million people have been dropped out, Ademov said, adding that some of them may be employed in the informal economy.

He noted, however, that budget revenues and expenditures cannot be changed between the first and the second reading of the bill in the National Assembly, because the Finance Ministry adopts the budget framework and is responsible for it. But Ademov recalled that when the now-ruling GERB party was in opposition, it proposed setting the minimum monthly pension at 1,000 leva.

The unsuccessful motion of BSP For Bulgaria suggested that the budget revenues should be increased by 894 million leva. In particular, revenues from social insurance contributions were proposed to be raised by about 500 million leva.

Georgi Gyokov (BSP For Bulgaria) said the incumbents are in the habit of planning a smaller budget, although revenues eventually turn out to be 5-6% more than projected.

Dragomir Stoinev (BSP For Bulgaria) said the most important thing for the system is to make sure that social insurance contributions are based on the real incomes. "But how can this happen when you don't want to raise the social insurance income ceiling, as proposed by the BSP?", Stoinev said.

Reacting to the opposition's proposals, Irena Dimova (GERB) said any increase in expenditures would entail more transfers from the executive budget. "There is no populism in this budget," Dimova asserted. According to her, the projected pension expenditures are based on the fact that the minimum pension has been increased twice in 2017.

Volya leader Vesselin Mareshki warned that an increase in expenditures would upset the balance in the system. Overall, the Volya parliamentary group supported the public social insurance budget.