The right to a Bulgarian pension is not lost if the submission of a “life declaration” is delayed. If payments are suspended, the pension will be resumed from the date of suspension, provided that the document is submitted within the three-year limitation period, the National Social Security Institute clarified.
“This is nothing new. The same approach was applied last year as well,” the NSSI said in response to reports that the pensions of thousands of Bulgarians abroad were being suspended because of a single document.
Who must submit the declaration
By December 31, 2026, the declaration must be submitted by pensioners who live in a country outside the European Union with which Bulgaria does not have an international social security agreement. The deadline began on November 1, and the document is required for pension payments to continue in 2027 as well.
For pensioners in European Union countries, with the exception of Germany, as well as in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the procedure remains unchanged. This also applies to those living in Canada, Israel, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Albania, South Korea, Azerbaijan and Tunisia.
When the pension is received into an account in Bulgaria, the declaration is submitted once a year. When the pension is received monthly into an account abroad, the document is submitted every three months. Pensioners who receive their Bulgarian pension in Turkey through the Turkish Social Security Institution, SGK, submit a declaration in January and July.
Submission does not require travel to Bulgaria
The declaration is certified at a consulate or another official body in the country of residence. It may then be sent by post, through an authorized representative, or electronically via NSSI Service 52 using a qualified electronic signature or the institute’s personal identification code.
The NSSI emphasizes that the “life declaration” is an established procedure that pensioners abroad have been familiar with for years. If the deadline is missed, the consequence may be a temporary suspension of payments, but not the loss of the pension entitlement itself.
Sources: focus-news.net