Prime Minister Jeliazkov: Multifund arrangement is to generate huge financial resource for Bulgaria’s economy and help increase pensions

Prime Minister Jeliazkov: Multifund arrangement is to generate huge financial resource for Bulgaria's economy and help increase pensions

21.01.2026

The cabinet approved a proposal to the National Assembly to amend and supplement the Social Security Code which will enable the development of the capital market in Bulgaria. The amendment will allow for the investment of a huge available financial resource into the Bulgarian economy and infrastructure. This was stated by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov at the opening of the cabinet's sitting. Rossen Jeliazkov emphasized that the approach would allow for the accumulation of funds in the Bulgarian pension system to increase pensions in the foreseeable future for every eligible Bulgarian.

"The amendments to the Social Security Code are extremely important: this is a matter that has been discussed for many years while the implementation of the multifund arrangement for additional pensioning insurance is based on a recommendation from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development," said Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova as she recalled the analysis made by the Economic and Social Council to outline the practices in other European Union countries with a pension insurance system that is similar to the Bulgarian system.

The main objective is to safeguard the interests of the scheme-covered individuals so the bill to amend the Social Security Code gives a chance for supplementary pension insurance funds to establish, in addition, subfunds on the basis of which it would be possible to invest in extremely important structure-determining projects. The amendments propose the expansion of the types of eligible investments of the funds with new financial instruments - such as money market instruments, growth market shares, exchange-traded funds that are not collective investment schemes and alternative investment funds subject to investment restrictions. The investment restrictions of the new investment opportunities and the implementation of a multifund arrangement have been detailed and higher requirements will be posed for the staffing of pension insurance companies as regards their investment operations.

Under the new approach, the insured individuals will have a say on how their pension savings are invested in investment portfolios with a different risk profile. The scheme-covered individuals will be free to choose not just a pension fund managed by a particular pension insurance company but also the subfund with the investment profile - dynamic, balanced and conservative - which they see as most suitable for their risk appetite.

"The amendment of the Social Security Code is given broad support by both, employers and trade unions," the Finance Minister explained.

In addition, the bill arranges the payments upon legitimate retirement as it seeks a better coverage of the risks run by pension insurance companies, including the mode of pension calculation and a more adequate upgrade of pension payments.