An extraordinary convergence report on Bulgaria's readiness to join the eurozone will be requested as soon as the work on the budget is completed. This was commented to journalists by Denitsa Sacheva, deputy chairwoman of the GERB-SDF parliamentary group, BTA reports.
"We will request a report, today we expect the budget to enter the National Assembly and this week to be considered in committees and as soon as possible to enter the plenary hall. "The moment we are ready with the budget, we will request such a report," said Sacheva.
She commented on the issue in light of the latest Eurostat data on inflation. Sacheva participated in an event of the Economic and Social Council, during which the "Analysis of the Current Pension System and Proposals for Its Improvement" was presented.
Regarding the forum, Sacheva stated that the analysis that will be presented was commissioned by the Labor and Social Policy Committee of the previous National Assembly.
"We are constantly alerting that very soon, in just five or six years, about 5,000 people will enter the labor market, and almost 150,000 will enter the pension system. This huge imbalance requires solutions that must start today and be related to both the fight against the shadow economy and a lot of work with young people," added Sacheva.
According to her, almost 40 percent of young people do not consider it a violation of the legislation if they work without an employment contract. She insisted that efforts must be made to restore trust in institutions, the fight against the shadow economy, work "in the open", and payment of full social security contributions by employers. Sacheva explained that if there is currently a change in the labor market and more workers want to work without contracts, it is because they are debtors and are worried about having their salaries garnished.
There are many topics that we must all work on together, one of which is the strengthening of the three-pillar model of the pension system, which is important for the viability of both the National Social Security Institute and the second and third pillars. All these topics are far more difficult, deeper and require real political efforts, Sacheva noted. According to her, to date, half of Bulgarian pensioners, or about half a million Bulgarian pensioners, receive a single pension of 580 leva. This amount cannot motivate a single person to insure themselves and pay the real levels of insurance, she emphasized.
When asked whether the pension ceiling should be abolished, Sacheva replied that it has already been proposed several times that the pension ceiling should be lowered, because this would also lead to greater motivation, but at this stage, it affects so few people that the immediate effects will not be particularly large.
She noted that at the moment the pension system is supported much more by taxes than by people's personal contributions. Regarding the intention to increase the insurance contribution in 2027 Sacheva commented that she would not support such a measure at the moment, given the low level of trust and the still fragile formula of joint governance.
"We are currently in a situation where increasing taxes and social security contributions will lead to encouraging more of a shadow economy than an open economy", she commented.
When asked about the elimination of the Covid supplement when increasing pensions, Sacheva explained that this was certainly not the right decision. "There is no reason for people who retire today to receive "out of thin air" 60 leva without making any social security contributions. They do not receive it once, the amounts are included in the pension and the total amount of all pensions begins to increase. So it is wrong for the Covid supplement to be part of the pension. However, if we have already allowed this for several years - would it be fair enough. The question is to really make the calculations and balances so that the rights of all citizens are respected," added Denitsa Sacheva.