Bulgarian Parliament approves gradual increase in pensionable age
Bulgaria’s Parliament has approved the second reading of amendments that will see the pensionable age increase gradually until it reaches 65 for both men and women in 2037.
The gradual increase of retirement age will begin in 2016, after having been frozen for the past two years.
The retirement age for men will reach 65 in 2029 and will be the same for women in 2037.
This will be achieved by the retirement age for men increasing by two months in each of the next two years and by one month each year between 2018 and 2029. Women’s retirement age would increase by two months each year until 2029 and then by three months each year until 2037.
Bulgaria divides categories of labour into three, and these changes would affect those in the largest group.
Currently, men retire at 63 years and 10 months and women at 60 years and 10 months, provided that they have, respectively, service of 38 years and two months, and 35 years and two months.
Similar incremental increases are envisioned for professions qualified as first- and second-category heavy labour, where the retirement age is set to become 57 years (for first category) and 62 years (for second category).
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
