site.btaParliament Rejects BSP Proposal to Raise Financial Aid for Second and Third Child

Parliament rejected proposed amendments to the Family Allowances Act during the first reading on Wednesday. The amendments, put forward by Atanas Zafirov from BSP for Bulgaria and a group of MPs, received support from 65 members, while 84 abstained.

The bill proposed a one-time benefit for the second and third child for working parents who have been insured for at least 24 months prior to the birth. The benefit would be no less than seven times the minimum wage. Additionally, the one-time benefit for a mother (or adoptive mother) who is a full-time student would be no less than ten times the minimum wage.

The one-time childbirth benefit is determined annually by the State Budget Law for the respective year. For 2024, the benefit amounts are as follows: BGN 375 for the first child, BGN 900 for the second child, and BGN 450 for the third child.

The National Assembly’s Labour and Social Policy Committee did not support the bill introduced by BSP for Bulgaria and recommended its rejection. Arguments against the bill in the committee's report included linking the benefit to the minimum wage, a big increase for the second and third child benefit, and abuses in student mother benefits from 2009 to 2015.

The amendments were supported by Vazrazhdane, BSP for Bulgaria, and There Is Such a People, as well as one MP from GERB-UDF and five independent MPs. MPs from GERB-UDF, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms abstained, along with one MP from There Is Such a People.