29.09.2020   

I work abroad - what insurances do I owe?

I have realized that, as a citizen of the European Union, I can not only go on holiday freely to other European countries, but I also have the right to work there indefinitely.

Due to the difficulties I face in finding a job in Bulgaria, I decided to try abroad.

What is not clear to me so far is where will I have to pay my insurance after I leave? In Bulgaria or in the country where I will work?

First of all - what is insurance?

Insurance is a cash contribution that my employer deducts from my monthly salary. Their value depends on the amount of my salary, and they are paid by 60% of the employer and 40% of me, respectively. The only exception is if I am a self-employed person (artist, lawyer, etc.). Then I have to pay 100% of the amount myself.

Important! The availability of insurance is for the purpose of assisting an insured person in difficulty. For example, if I find myself in a situation of an accident at work, unemployment, maternity, illness and others, then I will receive financial assistance. However, my contributions will be collected every month, regardless of whether I find myself in a similar situation.

The money contributed by me and other citizens is accumulated in accounts of funds, which help insured persons in need. Such funds are, for example, "Pensions", "Non-employment pensions", "Accidents at work and occupational diseases", "General illness and maternity" and "Unemployment".

How are social security contributions paid?

In Bulgaria, the insurances are paid by the 25th of the month, referring to the previous month. That is, my social security contributions for March will have to be paid by my employer to the National Revenue Agency (NRA) by April 25.

Important! If my employer has not paid the due contribution, this will not affect my insurance rights. I will continue to be an insured person and my employer will be subject to a sanction. Also, I can check on the NSSI website whether my insurance payments are made regularly.

If I work in another EU country, to whom do I owe insurance?

When I work abroad, I will be insured either in my country of origin (Bulgaria) or in the country of residence (for example, France). Important! However, I cannot choose which of the two countries to insure myself in. This issue is determined by the law of the country in which I work.

In the field of social security, European countries do not have a unified policy. This means that each Member State applies its own laws, which determine its insurance policy. Therefore, I must look for information about the specific European country in which I plan to start working.

This is the only way I can know exactly how the insurances are collected there, by whom and when they will be paid. Detailed information about the insurance mechanism of each EU country can be found here.

Important! Apart from the country of residence, where I will be insured also depends on my employment status.

How does my employment status determine insurance?

For the insurance system is a very important factor whether I will be on an employment contract, self-employed, posted abroad or working in a neighboring country, but living in Bulgaria.

- For example, if I live and work in Germany, whether I am employed or self-employed, I must register with the German social security system. This is because in this case I will be able to receive my sickness, unemployment, pension, family benefits and other similar payments according to local law.

Important! In many countries, benefits may depend on how long I have been paying contributions. However, this includes all periods in which I have worked in EU countries. For example, in Germany, a minimum of 5 years of insurance is required to be entitled to an invalidity pension. If I have worked for 2 years in Germany, but also 4 more in Bulgaria as an insured person, then I will be entitled to a disability pension in Germany.

- If I am posted abroad for up to 2 years, then I continue to insure myself in Bulgaria. For this purpose I will have to fill in a form with which I prove that I remain insured in the Bulgarian social system while I am abroad. Also, if I am a seconded civil servant (I will work in a consulate, embassy or other official institution abroad), then I will be insured again according to the Bulgarian system.

Important! In both cases, in order to have access to healthcare in the country where I am posted, I will need to obtain a European Health Insurance Card.

- If I am a cross-border worker and work in one country (Romania), but live in another (Bulgaria), I will have to pay social security contributions in the country where I work. This means that I will be entitled to healthcare in Romania. However, I could receive medical care in Bulgaria as well. For this purpose I will need to take form S1 from the health insurance institution in Romania. He will give me the right to be treated in Bulgaria as well.

25.09.2020

They are raising pensions in Romania by 40%

Romanian lawmakers have approved a 40 per cent increase in pensions, thwarting the centrist minority government's intention to secure a smaller but steady increase of 14 per cent, Reuters reported.

Parliament approved a 40 per cent increase with 242 votes to 148, a ruling party lawmaker told the agency. Eleven deputies abstained.

The opposition Social Democrats, who were in power until November last year and remain the largest group in parliament, announced last year a huge increase in pensions from September 1 and a doubling of child benefits, the agency reminds.

Currently, the minimum pension in Romania is 145 euros and the average is 270 euros.

The planned new pensions next year are projected to cost the treasury 24.8 billion lei or more than 5 billion euros. For comparison, the minimum pension in Bulgaria is BGN 250.

24.09.2020

EUR 511 million for Bulgaria under SURE

The EC welcomes the activation of the SURE short-term employment instrument, which will provide up to € 100 billion in aid to protect jobs and workers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This follows the completion of national procedures and the signing by all Member States of agreements with the Commission for guarantees worth EUR 25 billion. The EC has already submitted its proposal to the Council for granting financial support in the amount of 87.3 billion euros to 16 member states, including Bulgaria. Our country is expected to receive 511 million euros. Once the Council has approved the proposals, the money will be granted in the form of loans on favorable terms from the EU to the member states.

The SURE instrument was set up to provide temporary support to mitigate the risks of unemployment in exceptional circumstances following the COVID-19 epidemic. The instrument enables the EU to provide financial assistance to a Member State to finance measures designed to protect employees and the self-employed and to reduce unemployment and loss of income. Bulgaria has requested financial support for two of the measures taken against the crisis. These are the so-called scheme 60:40 adopted by Decree No. 55 of March 30, 2020, and the supplementary measure adopted by Decree 151 of July 3, 2020, recalled by the Ministry of Finance.

Financial assistance under the instrument will be provided to Member States in the form of a loan, with the EC raising funds from the financial markets and subsequently providing them to Member States in return for providing guarantees for the risk borne by the EU. The interest rate on each Member State's loan will depend on the cost of EU financing, which is expected to be low given the EU's excellent credit rating.

The amount of the guarantee required by a Member State will be proportional to the relative share of its gross national income (GNI) in that of the EU, respectively the maximum amount of commitment from Bulgaria is approximately 107.5 million euros.

19.09.2020

They give 15,000 euros each to Romanians for joinery

In Romania, households can now receive funding of up to 15,000 euros to make their homes energy efficient, local media reported, citing the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forestry. The goal of the program is to reduce energy consumption in Romanian homes and greenhouse gas emissions.

Approximately 9,000 homeowners in Romania will be able to make their homes more energy efficient through this program, which has a total budget of 430m lei (88.5m euros). They can benefit from an energy premium of up to 15,000 euros. It covers up to 60% of repairs.

"Most houses are not well insulated. This is the reason why energy losses reach 30% only through external walls or 25% through windows or roofs. Our program has a large environmental component, but also economic and social: indirectly such an investment leads to halve energy bills and, indirectly, to reduce national energy consumption, "said Minister Costel Alex.

Eligible costs include: installation of insulating windows, roof insulation, external walls, installation of a more efficient boiler, solar panels, ventilation systems, LED lighting fixtures, motion sensors, new valves and pipes, etc. The condition for eligibility of the project is to increase the energy efficiency of the house by at least one energy class.

In Bulgaria, low-interest loans are being considered to replace free rehabilitation. The forthcoming second phase of the rehabilitation program will seek to reduce state participation in the process, which will be offset by other sources of funds, and to this end will expand "the implementation of financial instruments that will mobilize funding from the private sector," he explained. the regional minister Petya Avramova in answer to a deputy's question.

17.09.2020

Ministry of Labor and Social Policy with advice for parents of quarantined children

If you are the parent of a quarantined child, you have the right to go on paid annual leave for the period of the child's stay at home, or if you do not have the opportunity to do so - on unpaid leave. This is stated in a post of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy on Facebook.

You can use a hospital for temporary incapacity for work to look after a quarantined child, including a healthy child returned from kindergarten or school due to quarantine, the MLSP also points out.

In case you go on unpaid leave, you can apply to the Social Assistance Agency for targeted assistance for the period when you are not at work and have no income, the ministry explains. The assistance is proportional to the days of quarantine, as parents with one child under 14 can receive up to BGN 610, and families with two or more children - up to BGN 915.

In case the parents are in contact or infected with COVID-19 and cannot leave their home, they should contact the relevant municipality and request to be included in community care. Specially hired people will shop and make other home deliveries.

16.09.2020

Another 130 million euros in support of Bulgarian business

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) signed a new agreement worth 130 million euros under the European Union's (EU) COSME Program. It is part of the EU's policy to tackle the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COSME COVID-19 guarantee agreement is an instrument that will be available to Bulgarian small and medium-sized enterprises that need working capital to overcome the liquidity difficulties caused by the current economic environment.

Under the agreement, small and medium-sized enterprises will have access to working capital financing, thanks to an 80% guarantee on the amount of each new loan provided by the European Investment Fund. The maximum loan amount is up to EUR 150,000.

Earlier this year, the EIF and Raiffeisenbank signed an 18m-euro increase in the existing guarantee agreement under the EU's InnovFin Program for innovative companies, which also aims to support those companies in overcoming the crisis. Thus, the total amount for Bulgarian business to overcome the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis reached nearly 150 million euros.

15.09.2020

Romania will avoid the recession, and Bulgaria?

While for the second quarter of the year Bulgaria reported the largest decline in gross domestic product (GDP) since 1997, and experts expect the crisis in the country to continue, neighboring Romania may be in a better position to get out of the heavy situation caused by the pandemic, money.bg writes. Our northern neighbor was one of the worst hit by COVID-19 in Europe, but it is expected that it will be able to avoid entering a technical recession in 2020.

The Austrian Erste Group predicts that growth will recover in the third quarter after a sharp collapse in the middle of the year. The financial company expects Romania's GDP to grow by 5.9% for the July-September period and another 2% for the last three months of the year.

Meanwhile, in the second quarter of the year the decline in GDP was deeper than in Bulgaria - 12.3% in April-June for our neighbor compared to the first quarter with a decline of 10% for our country for the same period. The data on the performance of the economies for the months of July-September will be decisive, and with a new downturn the Bulgarian economy will enter a recession.

Erste Group confirms its previous forecast of a 4.7% contraction in the Romanian economy for the full year. Last month, the country's finance ministry said it expected 3.8% for 2020.

As for how the country will recover next year, experts say it will depend mainly on Bucharest's fiscal policy after the country's elections. Measures to limit the budget deficit and avoid downgrading the country will be crucial.

However, the bank forecasts that for the period 2022-2024, Romania's GDP will grow by 3.7%, 4.7% and 5.3%, respectively, and to a large extent this solid growth will be due to European funds for the new program period 2021-2027.

According to the latest forecast of the European Commission (EC), Bulgaria's economy will report a decline of 7.1% of GDP in 2020, and then will compensate part of its loss with a growth of 5.3 percent for the next.

It is clear from the Commission's summer forecast that the recovery of the Bulgarian economy from the pandemic may turn out to be slower than initially expected. The spring forecast, for example, stated that in 2021 GDP could grow by 6 percent.

Experts also believe that our country is already in the middle of a crisis, and it may take even longer to get out of it. According to the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, this may not happen in the next, but only in 2022.

14.09.2020

Employment Agency

Labor Office Directorate - Berkovitsa

Informs the unemployed that as of 14.09.2020 the Labor Office has financial resources for adult education under the Employment Promotion Act as follows:

Training of unemployed persons in the branches of the State Enterprise "Bulgarian-German Center for Vocational Training" in Pazardzhik, Smolyan, Pleven, Stara Zagora and Tsarevo - BGN 6,776.

Informs the employers from the municipalities of Berkovitsa and Varshets that as of 14.09.2020. The Labor Office has financial resources for concluding contracts for the use of programs and incentive measures for employment and training and for adult education under the Employment Promotion Act (EPA), as follows:

To use the above preferences, employers can submit applications for vacancies and the necessary documents in the Directorate "Labor Office" - Berkovitsa until exhaustion of the announced funds.

Additional and specific information can be obtained in the Directorate "Labor Office" - Berkovitsa, as well as on tel. 0953 88 341.

14.09.2020

A Fund of Funds established a fourth alternative investment fund

Fund of Funds (FF) and the financial intermediary Vitosha Venture Partners registered a joint fund for acceleration and initial financing - Vitosha Venture Partners - Fund I KD. The new company was established for a period of 10 years and has a capital of BGN 38 million.

Of these, BGN 35.6 million are public resources provided by the Fund of Funds. These funds are provided by the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020, co-financed by the EU Regional Development Fund. The remaining BGN 2.4 million are private financing.

By the end of 2023, Vitosha Venture Partners - Fund I will invest in 116 start-up companies at an early stage of their development. Small and medium-sized enterprises at the acceleration stage can count on financing between BGN 30,000 and 100,000. The more advanced in the development of their product or the creation of a prototype will receive between BGN 30,000 and 2 million.

The fund will work for the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria, supporting projects with a technological focus and high potential for sustainable growth. It will provide businesses with access to start-up financing, business consulting, mentoring, operational and strategic support. About half of the supported companies will participate in an accelerator program organized by the fund manager Vitosha Venture Partners.

The fund is already accepting applications for funding on its website.

Vitosha Venture Partners - Fund I is an alternative investment fund - a collective investment company that raises capital from many sources. The fund will be managed by the financial intermediary Vitosha Venture Partners, selected through a public procurement. The operational agreement between it and the Fund of Funds was signed on June 5, 2020.

In accordance with the investment strategy to the financial agreement between the Fund of Funds and the Managing Authority of OPIC 2014-2020, five instruments for unit and quasi-unit investments are implemented through alternative investment funds. Together with the new fund, four such funds are already active. The fifth is in the process of being awarded.

The total public resource set aside for this purpose is BGN 294 million. The funds also add private funds to it.

Financial intermediaries Vitosha Venture Partners and Innovation Capital manage BGN 38 million and BGN 30.5 million, respectively, for investments in early-stage companies, while New Vision 3 and Morningside Hill have BGN 42.5 million, respectively. BGN and BGN 55.9 million risk capital.

06.08.2020

Social enterprises and start-ups can receive microloans of up to EUR 50,000 under an instrument financed by OPHRD

Social enterprises and start-ups can receive microloans of up to EUR 50,000 with a repayment period of up to 10 years. This is possible thanks to the financial instrument "Portfolio guarantee with a ceiling on losses for microcredit", implemented by the Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria (the so-called Fund of Funds) with funds from the Operational Program "Human Resources Development" 2014-2020. Loans will be granted at a lower interest rate, lower collateral requirements and the possibility of a grace period. Entrepreneurs from vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the unemployed for more than six months and young people up to the age of 29 will also be able to take advantage of it and realize their business ideas. The funds can be used for investment and working capital financing. The loans are intended for companies that otherwise find it difficult to obtain a bank loan due to their high risk profile - lack of financial history, unfavorable credit history, insufficient income and the possibility of collateral or other negative factors.

The relaxed conditions of microcredit are possible after the Fund of Funds conducted a public tender for an intermediary, won by UniCredit Bulbank. As a result, an agreement was concluded between the bank and the Fund of Funds in the amount of BGN 5 million. Based on the guarantee coverage, the bank is expected to grant microloans with own funds worth BGN 25 million. Those wishing to obtain loans on easy terms must apply to UniCredit Bulbank.

The Fund of Funds already implements risk-sharing microcredit instruments granted by First Investment Bank, Microfund AD and SIS Credit AD.