site.btaUPDATED National Social Security Institute Supervisory Board Approves 11% Increase in Pensions

At its meeting on May 14,  the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) decided to update pensions by 11% from July 1, 2024, said the NSSI. This was done at the suggestion of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and member of the Supervisory Board Ivaylo Ivanov.  The funds envisaged for pension increase in the 2024 State Social Insurance Budget Act amounted  BGN 1,110.7 million.

At Tuesday;s meeting, Maria Mincheva, as a representative of the employers' organizations, was elected as Chair of the Supervisory Board, and Asya Goneva from the trade unions was elected as Vice-Chair. Kalina Petkova was also elected Vice-Chair from the state quota.

Minister Ivanov pointed out that only the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), expressing other reasons for the status of the Supervisory Board, abstained from voting.

The Supervisory Board is the body that decides by how much to update pensions, the Minister recalled in response to a question about whether it is proper for Parliament to have an extraordinary meeting on the issue of increasing pensions.

The Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) coalition requested the convening of an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on May 15, Wednesday.

The decision of the Supervisory Board is final, it is the body that manages the funds of the NSSI, Ivanov stressed. "I don't think it is necessary for MPs and politicians in general to influence the decision-making of an independent body at the moment," the Minister also commented. He said there was "no such thing" when asked whether the granting of the Easter supplements could have affected the increase in pensions. One has nothing to do with the other, Ivanov stated.

After public comments arose about the possibility of the increase being lower than planned, on Monday morning the caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy Ivaylo Ivanov said that he would propose that the pensions be updated by 11%, as adopted in the 2024 State Social Insurance Budget Act. Ivanov that there are available funds for this. Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev also confirmed this, as quoted by the Government's information service. "Pensions will be paid with an increase of 11%, although under the 'Swiss rule' the amount of the increase is only 10%," he said. 

At a press briefing in the late afternoon on Monday, Glavchev confirmed that people entitled to pensions will receive an 11% increase. All estimates show that there is no reason not to increase pensions by 11%, confirmed Minister Ivaylo Ivanov.