site.btaTripartite Cooperation Council Discusses Budget Bills

The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation is convening an extraordinary meeting in Sofia on Wednesday, December 11, to discuss Bulgaria's public finances for 2025. The discussion will start from the National Health Insurance Fund Budget Bill and will then proceed with the Public Social Insurance Budget Bill and the State Budget Bill.

The 2025 State Budget Bill envisions a government deficit of 3% of GDP. The government debt is expected to reach BGN 59.8 billion next year. A new calendar is proposed for the rates of excise duty on tobacco and tobacco products, and an increase is suggested for the excise duty on liquor and beer. The State Budget Bill was published by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday.

The 2025 Public Social Insurance Budget Bill was approved by the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute on Monday. It proposes an increase of the maximum contributory income to BGN 4,130 per month from the current BGN 3,750. The monthly allowance for raising a child during its second year is set to remain at BGN 780. It is suggested that the allowance should be denied if the parent has signed more than one contract of employment. As of July 2025, pensions are to be adjusted by an estimated 8-9% on the so-called Swiss rule (by 50% of the previous year's inflation and 50% of the growth of the average contributory income). The contributory income towards a pension will not be increased. Public social insurance revenues are forecast to go up by BGN 1.38 billion. Around 39% of expenditures will be covered by the state budget, down from 45% currently.

The 2025 National Health Insurance Fund Budget Bill has been approved by the institution's Supervisory Board. The budget is planned to increase by BGN 1.3 billion (16.5%) compared with 2024. The increase is distributed evenly among the separate budget items. The money earmarked for next year is BGN 9.5 billion.