Bulgaria's social security system needs clear, predictable rules, not "ad hoc decisions," says Vesela Karaivanova-Nacheva, head of the National Social Security Institute. She spoke at the closing conference of a World Bank project on negative demographic trends.
The institute will send experts to join working groups drafting changes to the Social Security Code and related rules.
It will also help reform how disability is assessed. The plan is to add a functional assessment, based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, alongside the percentages set by medical boards — or replace them with it.
Karaivanova-Nacheva called the World Bank report a thorough, objective and scientifically grounded look at the demographic problems facing the social security system. Demographics will shape the country's future, she said. Bulgaria's population is changing for good, she added, the trend is deepening, and its impact on social and economic life will keep growing.
That's why support for families and children, the labor market, pensions, welfare, care and health care all need to change now, she said.
"Demographic trends won't reverse quickly, but it's up to us how ready the social security system will be for them," she said.
Karaivanova-Nacheva agreed with the report's finding that pensions and maternity benefits have become more adequate in recent years. "But that came at a high fiscal cost, and often through ad hoc decisions that make the system less predictable," she said.
The goal now, she said, is to turn the World Bank's recommendations into real practice, building a framework that keeps public finances sound while paying out enough over the long run.