After the National Assembly began discussing the so-called pension card, I said then that the retirement age should not be raised in any way. By law, the age of 65 must be reached by 2037, and we are still 12 years before that period. So this topic should be closed once and for all and no one should think that they can raise the retirement age. This was commented on in the studio of "The Day Begins" Social Minister Borislav Gutsanov.
"I think it is normal for the maximum to be 65 years, not to mention that the mortality rate in Bulgaria is the highest. There are also many people who retire at an earlier age, after which they continue to work, but this is already another problem in the pension system. And I think that this topic should not be commented on in any way, at least this is my categorical opinion. When we talk about pension reform, I do not think that the word reform is correct at all - we can talk about upgrading, about opportunities for it to be improved, but the word reform should not be used", explained Gutsanov.
In his words, this is the most conservative system possible, because every person is connected to it from their first working day to their last:
"That is why they should know when they start working, and how they will retire. That is why such experiments should not be done and I think that debates on the pension system should be done by specialists and only then commented on. And if it impresses you, I am infinitely spoiled as a minister on this issue, even today at 10:00 we have a meeting with the social partners - the four employer organizations and the two unions. And one of the topics will be the pension system, but it will be in a closed circle."
Regarding the idea of raising the amount of social security contributions, Borislav Gutsanov explained:
"We have about 25% of the shadow economy in Bulgaria. This is a quarter of the country's economy being in the shadow sector. This is a huge opportunity and reserve to brighten it with actions by each of the ministries. That is why I have also issued an order to start inspections by the GIT, so that in this way, by brightening the economy, other funds can now enter the state budget, including the pension system."
The minister also added that only if the economy is brightened by 10%, then will there be a problem with the National Social Security Fund and pensions. Currently, 11.2% of the state's GDP goes to pensions, not from the budget.
In relation to the budget and whether updates regarding salaries are possible, the social minister said that an update is not possible at this stage.
"We adopted it less than 2 months ago. Let's see what the collection rate is and then comment on what and how can be done,", specified Borislav Gutsanov.