The assets of private pension funds are now almost BGN 24 billion, according to the data of the Financial Supervision Commission for the first quarter of the year. Compared to the end of 2023, they mark a growth of 4.5%.
The number of people insured in the four types of pension funds also increased by nearly half a percent, and at the end of March 2024 they were more than 5 million people, the BNR specifies. In the individual batches of the most massive, universal funds, in which everyone born after December 31, 1959 is necessarily insured, there is an average of BGN 5,140.
Traditionally, the largest share of the insured is concentrated in the universal pension funds – over 80 percent. People with contributions to voluntary and occupational pension funds are just under 13 and 6.5 percent, respectively. The share of those insured in the voluntary pension funds under professional schemes is the smallest – under half a percent.
In the individual batches of the insured in the universal funds, the highest amount – on average, over BGN 6,600 is available for those aged 50 to 54. The individual amount of funds accumulated on the lots of the insured varies widely and depends on many factors such as: the duration of the insurance period; the insurance contribution and the insurance income; the regular receipt of contributions to the fund; the fees withheld; the achieved profitability and others. There were just over 21,000 people receiving payments from the funds as of March 31 this year, with 3,000 pensioners and the remaining nearly 18,000 on deferred payments. These are those insured in the universal pension funds and those who have reached retirement age.
The average amount of pensions paid as of March 31 is BGN 231, and the average amount of deferred payment is BGN 448. For comparison at the end of last year, they are slightly below BGN 230 and BGN 416, respectively.