04.01.2022
NEW DEADLINES FOR TRANSFERRING THE SECOND PENSION TO THE NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY INSTITUTE
From the beginning of this year, new deadlines for the transfer of the second pension to the National Social Security Institute come into force.
From January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025 a person will be able to change his insurance up to 1 year before reaching retirement age under Art. 68, para. 1 of CSR.
From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030 the term is extended to 2 years. From 1 January 2031 to 31 December 2035 it becomes 3 years, from 1 January 2036 to 31 December 2037 - 4 and after January 1, 2038 - 5 years
At the end of June 2021, another postponement for the transfer of the insurance for a second pension to the National Social Security Institute expired. This opportunity was given to people who missed the deadline to give up private pension funds.
It envisages that Bulgarians who until June 30, 2021 inclusive have less than 5 years until retirement age for the third category of work and who have not been granted a one-time pension, by June 30, 2021 to exercise the right of their choice to be insured only in the NSSI.
Everyone can check the pension they will receive through the NSSI electronic calculator, through the personal identification code (NSSI PIC).
04.01.2022
10 TIPS WHEN INSURING FOR A SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION
10 tips are given by the experts of the Financial Supervision Commission for people when they are insured for a second pension.
- It is good to be familiar with the pension insurance system in Bulgaria.
- The care for our security in antiquities is becoming more and more our concern, not only the state.
If years ago we relied on the state for our future pension, now the responsibility for what pension we will receive is ours. A number of factors, including demographic, have led to the need to supplement the existing model of pension insurance, based on the so-called solidarity principle (pensions are paid from the collected insurance contributions to employees).
With the introduction of the supplementary pension insurance, based on the so-called capital principle, the aim is through the supplementary pension that the future pensioners can count on an income with which to maintain their usual standard of living. It is good to be familiar with the pension insurance system in Bulgaria, explain the experts from the FSC.
- Do not let someone else make a choice for you when the obligation to insure arises for the first time, for example, when starting a first job alone and in time to choose a universal pension fund. Choose a pension fund in which to insure yourself, up to 3 months after the initial start of work - under an employment contract, under a civil contract or as a self-insured person. If you do not make your choice within the specified period, you will be officially assigned to one of the funds operating in the insurance market. Choosing a pension fund is an important decision, so it is good to carefully consider where to insure.
- Before concluding a contract with your chosen pension insurance company, carefully read the rules for the organization and operation of the fund and read the insurance contract offered by the company.
The regulations of all pension funds managed by the respective pension insurance companies can be found on the FSC website, under the heading “Registers and references” -> “Electronic register” -> “Pension funds”. You can request a sample contract from the insurance intermediary or an employee of a pension insurance company - they are obliged to provide it to you. You can sign a contract directly in the offices of the company of your choice or through an insurance intermediary, but by submitting a notarized application.
- Insure for a pension on your real income!
The amount of the pension you will receive depends mainly on what income you have been insured for during your working career. You cannot count on a high pension if you have been insured on the minimum wage most of the time.
- You should know that with the supplementary pension insurance (based on the capital principle) you take investment risk.
As the funds in your individual account are invested in securities, bank deposits and real estate, the value of a share in the pension fund depends directly on the assessment of the fair value of these assets. Currently, it can both increase and decrease. Reasonable investment leads to an increase in the funds of the insured, but their constant growth is not guaranteed. Under the capital principle of insurance, entrusting your funds to a pension fund, you bear the investment risk yourself.
- Take an interest in your money and how it is managed!
Although at the moment you may perceive pension insurance as an additional financial burden, remember that your old-age security largely depends on it. The money you insure is yours and it is important how it is managed. Therefore, it is prudent to at least carefully review the information from the annual statement of your individual account. You should receive it in the mail every year until the end of May. From the annual statement you can find out what amount has been accumulated on the account (your account), what income has been distributed, what fees and deductions have been collected.
- The profitability of the pension fund is an important indicator of how and to what extent the funds of the insured are managed.
But you should know that the results achieved are not always a guide for future ones. This applies to both positive and negative returns.
In principle, the return is calculated for a certain period using the values of one unit of the given pension fund at the beginning and at the end of this period. The funds in the universal, professional and voluntary fund are managed separately and the profitability is different. Pension insurance is a long-term investment that balances market fluctuations. Therefore, when, for example, researching or comparing the profitability of a pension fund, it is good to use longer periods as a basis. You can check the profitability through the FSC website or through the websites of the pension companies.
- Carefully consider the decision to transfer to a new pension fund!
If you are not satisfied with the pension insurance company and the fund in which you are insured, you have the right to transfer to a new one two years after the initial conclusion of the contract and every year after this period. You should proceed with this procedure after you have carefully considered all the pros and cons. For example, if the return on your pension fund this year is less than another fund, this is not always a good reason to transfer. The investment results achieved in the past are not a sure guide for future results and should not be assessed in the short term. You should know that the fee for transferring from fund to fund has been dropped.
- Contributing to a voluntary pension fund is a good way to take care of your future!
Caring for our future and financial security is increasingly our responsibility, not just the state's. We cannot count on the fact that after we retire, we will receive from the state a pension sufficient for our needs. That is why, while we are still active, it is good to think about the time when we will retire.
Financial advisers advise that voluntary pension insurance (the rest is mandatory by law) should start at the beginning of one's career. Adherence to the principle of "less but regularly" and for a long time usually gives good results.
Not to be overlooked is the fact that when you are insured in a voluntary pension fund, you can use tax benefits. Personal contributions for additional voluntary pension insurance in the amount of up to 10% of the monthly or annual tax base are not subject to taxation.
30.12.2021
THE MEASURE FOR MAINTAINING EMPLOYMENT 60/40 IS EXTENDED BY TWO MONTHS
Employers will receive funds from the state to maintain the employment of workers in the economic activities affected by Kovid-19 in the first two months of 2022. This was decided by the government with the adoption of amendments to Decree № 151 of the Council of Ministers in 2020, in which the conditions and the order for their payment are determined.
Funds will continue to be paid for employees who during the period from March 13 to December 31, 2020 worked part-time, used leave under Art. 173a of the Labor Code or their work has been suspended due to temporary restrictions on activities.
Companies established before January 1, 2020, will be able to receive from the state 60 percent of the insurance income of employees for October 2021 and from insurance contributions at the expense of the employer. To be eligible, their sales revenue during the month for which they apply for compensation must have decreased by at least 40% compared to the average monthly revenue for 2019. In the event that the decline is not less than 30%, the support from the state will be 50 percent of the insurance income for October 2021 and the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer.
Companies established after January 1, 2020 will be entitled to funds of 60 percent of the insurance income of employees for October 2021 and the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer, if their income from sales in the month for which apply for support have decreased by at least 40% compared to the average monthly income for 2020. Given that the reduction is not less than 30% compared to the average monthly income for 2020, the state will support them by 50 per cent of the insurance income for October 2021 and of the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer.
Employers who have received funds to maintain the employment of employees are required to pay wages in an amount not less than the amount of insurance income for October 2021 and to pay due social security contributions for the month.
The funds will be transferred to the respective employer by bank transfer from the National Social Security Institute. The decree enters into force on January 1, 2022.
30.12.2021
BGN 1.6 BILLION HAVE BEEN PAID TO 13,000 COMPANIES UNDER THE 60/40 MEASURE
Since the start of the so-called measure "60/40" so far over BGN 1.6 billion have been paid, according to data from an analysis of experts from the National Social Security Institute (NSSI). The analysis was published in the latest NSSI newsletter, and the document contains data up to date as of December 9, 2021.
The measure was launched in April 2020 and is currently set for the end of 2021.
For at least one month, a total of 13.4 thousand employers and 325.5 thousand employees took part in the measure. The four sectors with the largest share of disbursements are manufacturing (41.6 per cent), hotels and restaurants (14.6 per cent), trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (10.5 per cent), transport, warehousing and post offices (9.5 percent).
Nearly 82% of all retained jobs and nearly 70% of employers who participated in the measure for at least one month are concentrated in these sectors, the analysis shows.
The regional view shows that about 68% of the funds are concentrated in five areas. These are Sofia-city (36.6 per cent), Stara Zagora (12.8 per cent), Plovdiv (6.6 per cent), Varna (6.2 per cent) and Burgas (5.5 per cent), which are also the areas with the largest population and with the best economic indicators and the state of the labor market.
The largest share of the amount was received by enterprises with 250 and more insured. These are the employers who received support for maintaining the largest number of jobs (36.5 percent). Enterprises with up to 9 insured during the month of participation in the measure account for 56.6 percent of all employers who participated in the measure for at least one month.
The average number of months of participation in the measure is 7.9 for employers and 7 for employees. The distribution by number of months shows that just under half of both employers and employees participated for a period of no more than 5 months.
The distribution of participants by gender shows almost equal shares of men and women. By age groups, employees between the ages of 40 and 54 predominate, the analysis says.
29.12.2021
THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED THIS YEAR IS NEARLY 145,000 LESS
The newly registered unemployed in the labor offices across the country since the beginning of the year are nearly 145,000 fewer people than in 2020. This is shown by the data from the specialized monitoring of the National Statistical Institute and the Employment Agency on the labor market.
Surveillance data show that from 28 December 2020 to 19 December 2021 the newly registered unemployed were just over 273 thousand people, and from the end of December 2019 to December 2020 418 thousand people. At the same time, 249,220,000 people started working through employment offices.
In the last week observed so far, December 13-19, 2021, the trend that began in the summer, the newly registered unemployed to be more than those who started work, continues. They are 4440 and 2800 people respectively.
However, the second year of the pandemic shows an improvement in the labor market situation compared to 2020.
The chief expert on the labor market in CITUB Atanaska Todorova commented:
"The initial shock of the pandemic and the stress in employers and people who were in precarious jobs of registering as unemployed and earning a monthly income is gone in the second year of the pandemic. The people themselves, the business itself, the state is already somehow acquainted with what is happening in the labor market, this cycle of closing and opening businesses and the measures, of course, that are being taken.
29.12.2021
WILL THERE BE A SINGLE MINIMUM WAGE IN EUROPE?
MEPs have approved a mandate to start negotiations on a directive that will guarantee all workers in the EU a fair and adequate minimum wage. The project aims to set minimum requirements to ensure an income that enables a decent standard of living for workers and their families.
Parliament calls for the scope of collective bargaining to be strengthened and extended, obliging Member States in which less than 80% of workers are covered by these agreements to take active steps to promote this instrument.
According to one of the proposals, the minimum wage should be equal to 50% of the average wage for the country. For example - if for the third quarter in Bulgaria the average salary is estimated at BGN 1520, the minimum salary according to European rules should be around BGN 760 per month. At the moment it is BGN 650. The CITUB supports the European proposals. CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov commented:
"At the end of 2025, we expect to reach 67% of the average European income, now we are at about 55%. This means that the minimum wage should grow by about BGN 100 - 120 per year."
However, employers want each country to decide for itself, because there are enough national peculiarities that such a decision must take into account. The proposal of both Europe and CITUB the minimum wage is half of the average for the country and Stoyan Panchev from the Expert Club for Economics and Politics does not like:
"The minimum wage has a direct effect on the average wage. Linking it to another internal referral mechanism is a big mistake and could be an artificial supply to the wages themselves."
Ivan Neykov, director of the Balkan Institute for Labor and Social Policy, commented that although the EU is one of the richest regions in the world, 95 million Europeans live at risk of poverty:
"The social sphere is the sphere of shared competence of the EU, namely each country decides for itself and in some cases the EU could do something, ie have some powers to create regulations. A purely managerial European minimum wage would it had to be done in stages, not all at once."
For more than 15 years, the European Union has been looking for ways to harmonize minimum wages in the Member States, trying to find a balance between protecting workers, respecting the principles of competition and social justice. The European Parliament has given the green light to start negotiations with the Council on a directive that will guarantee all workers in the EU a fair and adequate minimum wage (MW). The regulation is expected to be adopted in the second half of next year.
29.12.2021
HERE'S HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR PERSONAL INFLATION
Rising inflation and higher spending around the Christmas holidays are asking more and more people how to optimize their spending.
Most experts advise us to make a detailed breakdown of our monthly consumption, and the National Statistical Institute provides an an opportunity to calculate our personal inflation.
Traditionally, the National Statistical Institute presents monthly and annual inflation, both of which are calculated on the basis of an average consumer basket.
However, it is not valid in the same way for different households, as their way of life presupposes different consumption, according to BNR.
That's why experts advise us to first make a monthly detailed breakdown of our costs. This means that if we leave the supermarket with purchases worth BGN 100, we can write in detail what part of them are for food, hygiene materials, cigarettes and coffee, for example.
On the one hand, this will help us eliminate unnecessary costs for goods that have tempted us, and on the other hand - to monitor how each necessary product or service we consume changes in price.
This can be done through the personal inflation calculator of the National Statistical Institute, which was developed back in 2010. It groups goods and we can track, for example, inflation in food and soft drinks we consume.
Monthly and annual graphs will show the deviation of our personal inflation from the average calculated index, which, in turn, should help us better plan the household budget.
The latest forecast made by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Asen Vasilev is that next year's annual inflation will be 5 to 6 percent.
22.12.2021
UP TO BGN 600,000 WILL BE ALLOCATED UNDER A PROJECT FOR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND ACQUISITION OF SKILLS IN AGRICULTURE
The eighteenth online meeting of the thematic working group for the development of the Strategic Plan for Rural Development in Bulgaria for 2023-2027 will be held on December 23. One of the interventions that will be considered by the participants in the meeting will be for vocational training and skills acquisition in the field of agriculture, financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
Improving human resources
The Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization (ISSS) for the period 2021-2027 emphasizes the need to improve human resources through investments in training and key competencies in the priority thematic areas for smart specialization and technologies of Industry 4.0, incl. improving digital skills and working with digital technologies.
ISSS 2021-2027 states that in terms of the penetration of digital technologies in the economy and society (Digital Economy and Society Index - DESI), the result of our country on the criterion of "Human Capital" is significantly below the EU average. Here, the assessment of the level of skills in the field of digital technologies is among the lowest in the EU. The share of people with at least basic skills in the field of digital technologies amounts to about 29% of the Bulgarian population, while the EU average is 57%.
On the other hand, it is necessary to encourage the participation of farmers, their organizations and the National Agricultural Advisory Service in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (EASA), which will expand the opportunities for sharing, exchanging and disseminating knowledge and experience, including in the context of the national network of the common agricultural policy. For this reason, the Strategic Plan includes an intervention for vocational training and skills acquisition in the field of agriculture.
The aim of the intervention is to improve the quality of implementation through knowledge and innovation and to increase the share of farmers receiving support for consultation, training, knowledge exchange or participation in operational groups in order to improve the quality of implementation in economic, environmental, climate and a resource efficiency aspect.
Who can apply?
Beneficiaries of the measure will be organizations providing knowledge transfer - universities, vocational high schools, research institutes, experimental stations, licensed vocational training centers and regional, regional and nationally representative branch organizations for production and processing of agricultural products.
Supported activities
Support is provided for training and skills acquisition in the field of agriculture and forestry for persons involved in the agriculture and forestry sector. The support covers activities for vocational training and acquisition of skills, which include conducting courses for acquiring qualification in a profession or part of a profession, in accordance with the requirements of the Vocational Education and Training Act (VETA), refresher courses in accordance with the requirements of Higher Education Act. Specialized courses for acquiring the right to work with agricultural and forestry equipment are also allowed. Information seminars to increase knowledge on specific topics aimed at achieving the specific objectives and identified needs in the Strategic Plan and demonstration activities are also among the eligible activities.
What are the rates?
The support is provided in the form of a flat rate per unit of product (standard simplified costs), covering up to 100% of the amount of supported costs.
The maximum amount of eligible costs per beneficiary for each activity is as follows:
Each organization can receive support for only one project for which it is a beneficiary, within the period of implementation of the strategic plan and participate as a partner in up to two projects during the period of implementation of the strategic plan.
22.12.2021
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMING INTERREG VI-A ROMANIA-BULGARIA PROGRAMME FOR 2021-2027
The program team invites you to participate in two Virtual Workshops where we will present the draft of the Interreg VI-A Romania-Bulgaria and the future financing opportunities:
To attend please fill in the online registration form until 7th of January:
https://forms.gle/1kx345Xx2AbK6czXA
Zoom link and agenda will be provided upon registration. Kindly note that English is the working language of the event.
22.12.2021
NEW FRAUD WITH MONEY TRANSFERS FROM THE BNB
The Bulgarian National Bank warns of more frequent cases of e-mails received from citizens, seemingly sent on behalf of the central bank, regarding remittances received at the BNB in their name.
On this occasion, the BNB informed that it does not send such messages to citizens.
These messages are a classic form of "phishing" attack and fraud, using the name of a recognizable institution.
The messages received "on behalf of the BNB" were sent from servers outside Bulgaria and contain a link leading to a site for theft of sensitive customer information (personal data and bank card data).
Upon receiving such a message by e-mail, the BNB urges citizens not to open it and not to follow the links contained in the message.
