site.btaMinimum Monthly Wage Up from BGN 933 to BGN 1,077 as of January 1, 2025, Poverty Line at BGN 638

As of January 1, 2025, Bulgaria's minimum monthly wage will increase from BGN 933 to BGN 1,077, according to a Council of Ministers decision adopted in October 2024. The minimum hourly wage is set at BGN 6.49 for a standard eight-hour workday and a five-day workweek.

Earlier this week, the caretaker government announced the submission of a bill to regulate revenue collection and expenditures until the adoption of the 2025 State Budget Bill, the 2025 State Social Insurance (SSI) Budget Bill, and the 2025 National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Budget Bill. Caretaker Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova said that the minimum monthly wage increase would apply to the private sector starting January 1, 2025. Civil servants earning the minimum wage will continue to receive BGN 933, she added. Petkova also noted that salary increases in the Finance Ministry, the higher education and defence sectors will take effect on the same date.

In early December, the caretaker cabinet submitted the 2025 State Budget Bill, the SSI Budget Bill, and the NHIF Budget Bill to the National Assembly but the MPs did not review the proposals before their recess.

A meeting of the parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled for January 7 at 1 p.m., during which the three bills are expected to undergo first reading, according to the agenda published on the National Assembly's website.

The Council of Ministers set the poverty line for 2025 at BGN 638 in September 2024, an increase of BGN 112 or 21.3% compared to 2024.