site.btaNumber of Insured Persons in Pension Funds Exceeded 5 Million in First Half of 2024, Financial Supervision Commission Says

The total number of insured persons in the four types of pension funds as of the end of June was 5,035,459, growing year-on-year by 70,149, or 1.41%, the Financial Supervision Commission said on Tuesday.

The largest share of insured persons is mainly in the universal pension funds - 80.54%. Persons insured in voluntary and occupational pension funds occupied a 12.71% and 6.55% share respectively. The share of those insured in voluntary pension funds under professional schemes is the smallest at 0.2%.

As of June 30, the net assets of the pension funds amounted to nearly BGN 24.6 billion. Compared to the end of 2023, the net assets of pension funds grew by 7.22% and on an annual basis by 16.63%.

The growth rate of net assets differs by fund type. Universal pension funds (UPFs) grew the fastest in terms of net assets, registering a 17.6% increase in a single year. Professional pension funds (PPF) and voluntary pension funds (VPPF) followed with growth of 12.97% and 7.73% respectively over the same period. The reported growth of voluntary pension funds under occupational schemes for the period was 7.47%.

Persons receiving payments from the pay-as-you-go funds stood at 22,211 as of June 30, including 3,453 retirees and 18,758 persons with deferred payments. These are persons who were insured in the universal pension funds and have reached retirement age. In the first half of 2024, just over BGN 4.1 million was paid out by the funds to make payments for pensions, over BGN 49.2 million for deferred payments to insured persons and BGN 173,000 to heirs of pensioners and persons who received deferred payments. The average amount of pensions paid out in the first half of 2024 was BGN 231.56 and the average amount of deferred payment was BGN 457.10. Compared to the first half of 2024, the average amount of pensions paid increased by BGN 6.44, or by 2.86%, and the average amount of deferred payment increased by BGN 58.01, or by 14.54%.