25.11.2021
SEIZURE OF SALARIES AND PENSIONS: WHAT INCOME IS SAVED FROM SEIZURE?
This question worries more and more people, especially in times of crisis.
Salaries up to BGN 840 can no longer be seized due to debts and people will take them in full. The reason for this is the increase of the minimum wage to BGN 650 from January 1, 2021.
According to the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), in the case of compulsory collection of overdue loans and unpaid bills for telephone, heating, etc., from the debtor's earnings and from the pension received by him, the creditors must leave him an amount equal to of the minimum wage. The debtor must have a minimum wage after taxes and insurance, according to the Civil Procedure Code. With a salary of BGN 840 after withholding taxes and social security contributions, the debtor must receive BGN 651.82, i.e. creditors can now take only BGN 1.82 from him.
Pensions up to BGN 650 will also not be seized, according to the Civil Procedure Code and the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code. Creditors cannot touch lower wages and pensions either. If the income is paid into a bank account, the banks must allow the debtor to withdraw up to the minimum wage (BGN 650) per month.
If the debtor's monthly income, after paying taxes and social security contributions, is between the minimum wage and twice its amount (from BGN 650 to BGN 1,300), debt collectors can take 1/3 of his income, if he is childless, and 1/4 if he has dependent children. If, after paying taxes, the debtor takes between twice the minimum wage and four times its amount (from BGN 1,300 to BGN 2,600), creditors can collect 1/2 of his income if he is childless, and 1/3 if is with children.
If the debtor's monthly remuneration after payment of taxes is more than four times the minimum wage (over BGN 2,600), creditors may take the excess over twice the minimum wage (BGN 1,300), if without children, and the excess over twice and a half of the minimum wage (BGN 1,625), if he has children to support.
Some personal belongings cannot be taken from the debtor. These include "teaching aids, including books and musical instruments, the use of which is necessary for the general and vocational training of the debtor and his family members". This means that if the child is learning remotely, they cannot take the family laptop he is using.
What else can't they take from us?
Debt collectors cannot take the debtor's refrigerator, stove and washing machine. The list of personal belongings against which enforcement cannot be directed due to debts has been determined by the Council of Ministers.
Among them are used shoes and underwear, some clothes, one bed for each member of the family, one double wardrobe, kitchen buffet, tables and chairs, ordinary household and kitchen utensils and dishes, a telephone and a radio.
Most often, private bailiffs take TVs, mobile phones and jewelry from debtors. These items are not protected by law and are the easiest to sell. Their pets, if they are not kept for sale, baby food and accessories cannot be taken from the debtors.
24.11.2021
HOW MUCH DOES THE EU GIVE US TO DEAL WITH THE EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC?
For the next year, Bulgaria receives 139,651,309 euros from the EU budget under the fund intended for overcoming the consequences of the pandemic. This is shown by data presented today by the European Commission.
The EC is allocating about 11 billion euros at current prices to EU countries, and the funds will be used for economic recovery measures, to improve health systems, to support the most vulnerable groups. The Commission expects the funds to be channeled in favor of digitalisation and the transition to a green economy.
The funds are allocated in two parts, taking into account the impact of the pandemic, the commission said in a statement. The distribution is based on data on GDP, unemployment and youth unemployment in individual countries.
The Commission notes that in Bulgaria, staff fighting the pandemic on the front lines have received additional remuneration from the budget, and the elderly and people with disabilities receive health and social services at home. The EU has set up a budget fund with additional funding of 50.6 billion euros to be used by the end of 2023.
The purpose of the fund is to help the economic and social recovery from the pandemic by encouraging the effects of the crisis and the resilience of health systems, businesses and support for the most vulnerable groups.
For this year, the fund has about 40 billion euros and over 90 percent of these funds are allocated for investment programs. The funding was used as a bridge between the emergency measures taken at the beginning of the crisis and overcoming the long-term effects of the pandemic, the EC explained.
24.11.2021
THE UNEMPLOYED EXCEEDED 250,000 PEOPLE A YEAR
The newly registered unemployed across the country for the period from the end of December 2020 to November 21 exceeded 250,000 people.
For the same period, just over 206,000 people were employed through employment offices. This is shown by the latest data from the specialized monitoring of the National Statistical Institute and the Employment Agency due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the last observed week from November 15 to 21, the newly registered unemployed in the country are 5,241 people and are significantly more than the 2,869 people who started working. For this period the largest is the predominance of those registered in the labor offices over those employed in the districts of Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Vidin, Vratsa, Kyustendil, Stara Zagora and Haskovo. In many places the difference is more than three times in favor of the newly registered.
Social experts recall that from December 2019 to December 2020, a little over 418 thousand people were registered in the labor offices, and 249,380 started working.
24.11.2021
THEY EXTENDED THE EMERGENCY EPIDEMIC UNTIL MARCH 31, 2022
The Council of Ministers extended the term of the declared emergency epidemic until March 31, 2022. Until today, it was planned to continue until November 30, 2021.
"The spread of COVID-19 in the country marks the intensive development of another pandemic wave. All districts of the country are affected by the new coronavirus, and in 93% of them the 14-day morbidity is over 500 per 100,000 population (in 8 of which the indicator exceeds 1,000 new cases per 100,000 population). Cases of COVID-19 are diagnosed in people of all ages. A significant increase in morbidity is observed in children and young people (20-29 years). The number of hospitalized persons is also increasing", read the reasons for the decision.
To extend the emergency, the government has also taken into account that the vaccination coverage in the country is 25.53% and is far from the EU's target of 70% vaccinated. "This contributes to the registered high levels of morbidity among unvaccinated individuals, who represent over 85% of all persons infected with SARS-CoV-2," said the Council of Ministers.
He points out that the application of health requirements upon entry into the country by the border health control authorities should continue, as well as the introduction of restrictions on access to the country, which will help reduce the likelihood of import and subsequent distribution of new options in our country.
24.11.2021
THEY APPROVED A NEW MEASURE OF BGN 30 MILLION IN SUPPORT OF TOURISM
The Council of Ministers adopted a Decree on determining the conditions, criteria, procedure and amount of funds under a grant scheme to support the tourism sector to compensate for losses incurred directly and/or indirectly by restrictions on the activities of enterprises due to anti-epidemic measures, announced by the Ministry of Tourism.
The measure, worth BGN 30 million, is being developed as a state aid scheme in the form of grants for companies in the tourism sector that are experiencing liquidity difficulties due to COVID-19. The aid administrator is the Ministry of Tourism.
The funds under the new state aid scheme will be paid after receiving a positive decision from the European Commission on the compatibility of the aid with the internal market on the basis of Art. 107 (3) (b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
24.11.2021
THE NRA OFFERS A NEW SERVICE
The e-mail addresses for correspondence, to which the NRA sends messages and documents to individuals and legal entities, can now be requested and corrected online by customers by using a new electronic service "Access and contact information management".
Holders of a runway issued by the agency or an electronic signature may change the emails and telephone numbers for contact with the NRA for the purposes of fulfilling the tax and insurance requirements.
In this way, the communication between the tax administration and the consumers will be facilitated, significantly reducing the cases of outdated contact information.
The e-mail address for correspondence under Art. 28, para. 2 of the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code (TSSPC) for receiving notifications from the NRA is mandatory for persons registered under the Value Added Tax Act, and for this reason the current email must be one, explained by the NRA.
Each time you update an email, the system sends an e-mail link that requires confirmation before the change takes effect. The change of contact phone number is done in 2 steps, and there is no obstacle to indicate a mobile number, the revenue agency clarifies.
The new service is available under the name "Access and contact information management" in the e-services portal of the National Revenue Agency - https://portal.nra.bg/.
The NRA advises users to provide an up-to-date e-mail for correspondence so that communication with the revenue agency can be done entirely electronically and not on paper.
24.11.2021
THE PANDEMIC HAS LED TO CHANGES IN GLOBAL MOBILITY
The global quest to attract skilled foreigners, especially those in the category between manual labor and a doctorate in physics, is ongoing as the pandemic enters its third year. Many rich nations hope to attract these young workers with fast visas and promises of permanent residence, writes The New York Times.
The disturbances caused by Covid have revealed a demographic imbalance - rapidly aging rich nations are producing too few new workers, while countries with a surplus of young people often do not have enough work for all of them. New approaches to this mismatch could affect the global debate on immigration, especially as European governments differ on how to deal with new waves of asylum seekers.
"We hear the same thing everywhere," said Jean-Christophe Dumont, head of international migration research for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "If you want to attract new workers, you have to offer them attractive conditions."
In Germany, a new Immigration Act offers accelerated work visas for qualified professionals and 6 months to visit and find work. Canada plans to grant the right of residence to 1.2 million new immigrants by 2023. And Israel recently finalized a deal to attract health workers from Nepal.
The pandemic has led to several major changes in global mobility. It slowed down labor migration. It has also created more competition for "digital nomads" as more than 30 nations have set up programs to attract mobile workers. And this has led to a general easing of work rules for foreigners who are already in the country.
24.11.2021
HOW MANY BULGARIANS HAVE GOT A SECOND JOB
Only half a percent of Bulgarians get a second job and this gives us the last place in the European Union on this indicator. This is shown by data from the European statistical office Eurostat, announced on Tuesday. However, the data show people who work officially in a second job, not those who do not have a contract and do not declare it.
Half of the Bulgarians with a second job have a contract, and the rest are self-employed or help in a family business. Romania and Sweden are in our queue. In the EU as a whole, in the second half of this year, less than 4% of employed people of working age worked in two places. More than half of them are in second place as employees, and 39% - as self-employed.
Most people work in two jobs in the Netherlands - 10 percent, in Finland and Denmark - 7 percent, and in Estonia and Lithuania - 6 percent.
In the second quarter of 2021, 13% of employed people between the ages of 20 and 64 in the EU were self-employed. The rest are classified as employees - they are 86 percent. Less than 1 percent are family workers, according to Eurostat data.
Among the self-employed, men are twice as many as women - 67 percent compared to 33 percent. The distribution by employees is more even - 52 against 48% in favor of men. The largest number of self-employed people is in the age groups between 55 and 64 years - there are 17%, between 15 and 24 years are 4 percent, and 13 percent are in the age group between 25 and 54 years.
In addition, the self-employed are slightly more common among people with a low level of education - 16% have primary education, 12% - with secondary education, and 13% - with higher education.
22.11.2021
HOW TO CHECK IF YOUR EMPLOYER PAYS INSURANCE
What to do if you think that your employer does not transfer the due insurances to you? First of all, check the slip for your monthly salary.
It should reflect whether the relevant social security payments have been made, experts from the Financial Supervision Commission advise.
However, to be completely sure that your social security contributions have been paid, and your employer has done everything necessary to ensure that your insurance data is properly recorded in the NRA registers, you can check through the electronic services portal on the NRA website - www.nap.bg - in "e-services with runway".
The data is available after entering your PIN and personal identification code (PIC). In case you do not have a PIC code – you can get it by submitting the respective application to the NRA.
If you find that the social security contributions have not been transferred by your employer, you should report it to the NRA, experts advise.
22.11.2021
HOW PENSIONS CHANGE FROM CHRISTMAS
From December 25, 2021, important changes in the pension legislation come into force, which will affect the amount of pensions.
The average amount of the pension is expected to reach BGN 573 in January 2022, according to the calculations of the experts of the National Social Security Institute, made at the request of BTA.
From December 25, the percentage for a year of insurance experience, without the so-called conversion increases from 1.2 percent to 1.35 percent. The length of service converted to the third category of work remains with a weight of 1.2 percent. The minimum amount of the pension for length of service and age will increase from BGN 300 to BGN 370. The maximum amount of the received one or more pensions, without the supplements to them, will increase from BGN 1440 to BGN 1500. The social old-age pension will be increased increased from BGN 148.71 to BGN 170.
The expected average amount of the pension in December 2021, not taking into account the one-time additional amount given due to the pandemic and for the period October - December 2021 is BGN 120, is BGN 486.50. The forecasts show that in January 2022 The average amount of pension will be BGN 573, including the payment for the period December 25-31 with the new weight of one year of insurance service and the increases of the minimum amount of pensions for employment, the amount of social pension for old age and "ceiling" of pensions.
These increases will not affect the right to lump sums - the so-called. "covid supplements" of BGN 50 for the period from January to September and BGN 120 thereafter, which were paid and continue to be paid this year. These allowances are given to help all just over 2,067,000 pensioners, regardless of the size of their pension.
The average amount of the pension in 2021, including "covid supplement", is expected to be BGN 537.50 and will increase by about 23 percent compared to 2020. For 2022 the forecast is for BGN 580.50. the people on the "ceiling" of pensions of BGN 1,440 in December 2021 are expected to be 27,500, and in January 2022, when the maximum amount of BGN 1,500 comes into force, the people on the "ceiling" will be 34,000.
In December 2021, the expected number of people receiving a minimum pension is 892,000, the forecast for January 2022 is that the people with a minimum pension will be 1,044,000, which is half of Bulgarian retirees.
At this stage, it is not clear whether pensioners will continue to receive a lump sum supplement to pensions, which is given to support the elderly during the pandemic due to the additional costs of medicines and others.
The caretaker Minister of Labor and Social Policy Galab Donev pointed out that this will be decided by the new National Assembly. His position is that pension income should increase, and it is important to have predictability in this increase.
According to the information contained in the latest bulletin of the National Social Security Institute, the adopted increases will lead to an increase in pensions not only in the short term, but also in the medium and long term. Thus, the average pension for employment per pensioner in 2024 is expected to reach BGN 669.
