In 2023, there will be 68 pensioners per 100 insured workers in Bulgaria. By 2070, the ratio is expected to be 78 pensioners per 100 insured workers. This information comes from a 2024 report by the National Social Security Institute, which forecasts the state of the pension system in 2070 in the face of an ageing population, increasing life expectancy and a declining number of contributors, according to online newspaper The Dnevnik.

To stabilise the pension fund, the institute proposes two options. The first option is to gradually increase the pension contribution rate for those born after 1959, starting in 2025. This increase would be one percentage point every five years and would reach 19.8% of insured income in 2045.

The second option is to change the formula for the annual pension adjustment, which currently takes place on 1 July. At present, pensions are increased by half the rate of inflation and half the growth in insured earnings from the previous year. However, if pensions were only adjusted for inflation, this would reduce pension costs in the medium and long term, according to the institute.