Complaints about the size of pensions are among the most common that reach the ombudsman, and complaints about unemployment benefits come second, Veselina Delcheva told MPs.
Wait — correct the name: the ombudsman is Velislava Delcheva.Complaints about the size of pensions are among the most common that reach the ombudsman, and complaints about unemployment benefits come second, Velislava Delcheva told MPs. In the parliamentary committee on labour, demographic and social policy, 17 MPs voted for her 2025 report and one voted against.
People ask for the same thing as in the previous year: the minimum pension should reach the poverty line, Delcheva said. There is no change in unemployment benefits this year either.
In 2025, about 800 complaints about violated social rights reached the ombudsman, 288 of them about TELK, the medical expert commissions. This year there are already 302 complaints about TELK. People with disabilities complain most often, and Delcheva believes the problem is systemic.
Challenging a TELK decision can take between eight and 12 months. During that time people have no pension and often fall into poverty, the ombudsman said. She also pointed to a conflict between two laws. Under the Health Act, people with a TELK decision get their full pension while they appeal. Under the Social Security Code, payments stop if the medical control of the National Social Security Institute appeals the decision.
The committee chair, Venko Sabrutev, said there is a lot of abuse with TELK decisions, but a sick person should not pay because a healthy one cheats the system.
Delcheva believes children with disabilities face discrimination. She said support for disabled adults is tied to the poverty line, which rises every year, while benefits for children are set in the budget year by year and sometimes are not updated at all. She called for these benefits to be updated every year as well.
There are 56 complaints this year about a lack of accessible environment, against 36 last year.
People also complain about debt collection firms and fast-loan companies, Delcheva said. Borrowers are not told when a debt is sold to another creditor. They are chased for debts that are past the statute of limitations, and the debt grows with no explanation. Borrowers and their relatives get constant calls and visits at home and at work.
"We also see debt among young people," the ombudsman said. She said that at 18, still without a job, they "rush to take their first loan to buy an iPhone, and this drags them into a spiral with no way out". This also damages their relations with their families.
MPs asked about violence between children, violence by adults against children, and juvenile justice. Delcheva admitted that victims of violence do not yet see the ombudsman as an institution they can turn to, and children do not recognise it either. To become known to children, the ombudsman visits schools and works with non-governmental organisations. Juvenile justice needs reform as much as TELK, because the legislation is outdated, she said.
There is also great interest in the introduction of the euro: at the ombudsman's reception offices, 40 people each asked what would happen after 1 January 2026.