Publication: Bulgaria : Ensuring Pension System Sustainability
Date
2009-09
ISSN
Published
2009-09
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The report, Bulgaria: Ensuring Pension
System Sustainability Pension Reform Policy Note was written
in September 2009. The report states that the Bulgarian
pension system has undergone significant and well designed
reform in 2000-2003. However, attempts to restore financial
self-sustainability of the pension scheme were not as
successful as envisaged. Projections presented in this note
suggest that recently introduced government contributions
are insufficient to achieve financial sustainability and
introduce growing distortions into the financing system.
Additional reforms to the system will be needed to meet
these challenges. Among the suggested reforms are; ensuring
automatic sustainable pension indexation mechanism free of
ad hoc interventions; attempting to further increase
effective retirement age by reviewing early retirement rules
and eliminating gender differences in retirement ages. A
continued slow increase of retirement ages for both genders
should also be considered; further strengthen disability
certification processes to respond to likely increase in
disability claims due to the economic downturn; strengthen
long term financial planning, including revision of
contribution rates which would be more compatible with
long-term fiscal sustainability, and consider an exit
strategy for formalized Government contribution to the scheme.
Citation
“World Bank. 2009. Bulgaria : Ensuring Pension System Sustainability. © Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/441abe1d-e2c3-5c4f-a393-3613595aad5c License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”