OECD assessed highly the supplementary pension insurance in Bulgaria and supports the future measures for its improvement

There are prepared private pensions amendments whose primary objective is increasing old-age income and guaranteeing adequate pension benefits

In 2024 the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) carried out a research mission in Sofia which reviewed the supplementary pension insurance and assessed the compliance of the Bulgarian legislation and the supervisory activity with the OECD recommendations on the key principles for private pensions regulation.

As a result of the good partnership between the co-chairs – the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC), as well as the efforts of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the representatives of other institutions, social partners and the industry, the review of the private pensions has already been successfully completed.

The Chair of the Working party on Private Pensions at the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) acknowledges the strengths of the supplementary pension insurance, including:

• the multi-pillar pension model;
• the stable legal framework;
• the competent risk-based supervision.

The ability of the country to implement the OECD legal instruments and the excellent cooperation with the Bulgarian authorities during the review have been highly valued.

In this regard the OECD also notes the possibility for considering certain aspects that could contribute to improving the pension system that are in line with the philosophy of the possibilities for legislative amendments such as:

• introduction of consumer choice between different investment strategies according to their life-cycle and risk tolerance (the so-called “multifunds model” encompassing funds with different investment profile);
• review of the rules determining the investment opportunities to achieve growing profitability.

For this purpose, the competent institutions in the country should state clearly and in sync their commitment to the development of legislative amendments, the philosophy of which is supported in the context of the recommendations given by the OECD.

Joining the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is a key priority for the Republic of Bulgaria, in view of which the Financial Supervision Commission confirms its readiness and commitment to participate in the development of the pension system in the country in order to guarantee trust, fairness, stability and transparency.

The Financial Supervision Commission and the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies have started a dialogue and are ready to propose changes to the regulatory framework in the field of supplementary pension insurance, the ultimate goal of which is to increase the profitability of the management of the funds on the individual accounts of the citizens, respectively achieving an adequate replacement income upon withdrawal from the labor market (retirement).