Pensions to be increased from January 1, not July 1

The Bulgarian Federation of Pensioner Unions and Organizations insists on urgent measures to protect the income of the elderly. This is clear from a declaration to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, parliamentary groups and the Ombudsman. The organization puts forward a number of demands in connection with the preparation of the 2027 Budget.

Among the main proposals is a change in the mechanism for annual updating of pensions. The Federation insists that the “Swiss rule“ should begin to be applied from January 1, not July 1. The reason given is that it is during the winter months that pensioners face the highest costs for electricity, heating, medicines and local taxes.

“It is not acceptable for a pensioner to pay high winter bills in January, February and March, and receive the annual pension update only from July“, the federation states.

Pensioner organizations also express concern about the planned increase in real estate tax assessments by 30% in 2027, 2028 and 2029. According to them, such an increase would put many elderly people in an extremely difficult financial situation. “This tax cut will throw many pensioners out on the street because they will not be able to pay the new tax“, the federation warns.

They add that for millions of Bulgarians, especially pensioners, housing is not a source of income, but the only place to live, acquired through hard work and long-term savings. The proposal is to reduce the tax increase to bearable levels and to spread it over a period of 10 years.
Among other demands is the expansion of healthcare for the elderly by increasing the number of free preventive examinations, laboratory tests and dental procedures.

The federation also insists on stronger institutional representation of pensioners. The organization wants its representatives in the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute and the Economic and Social Council, as well as the creation of a permanent Advisory Council to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

According to the pensioner organizations, it is unacceptable for nearly two million pensioners to not have their own representation in the tripartite dialogue and in the discussion of the state budget. At the end of the declaration, the federation appeals to the government: “Bulgarian pensioners do not want privileges. They want justice, predictability and the right to vote.“

The organization recalls that these are people who have worked and paid insurance premiums for decades to build the state. “There is no welfare state if the people who built it do not have the right to participate in decisions about their own lives“, the declaration says.