The 50-euro holiday payments for Christmas and Easter will no longer go to all pensioners. Only people who get certain welfare benefits and own no more than one home will qualify. The ministry is drafting the changes to the Social Assistance Act, according to media reports.
Until now, the money was handed out based on the poverty line or the size of a person's pension. That rule is being dropped.
The 50 euros will go to people who get monthly welfare benefits, including young people, those approved for targeted heating aid, families with children who have permanent disabilities, children in foster care, war veterans and war invalids.
People who don't get heating aid, and those who own a second home, will be left off the list. The change is meant to steer budget money toward the people who need it most, instead of spreading it across everyone.
The draft decree is open for discussion until the end of October 2026. After that, the cabinet must approve it, and it takes effect as soon as the government signs off. Because it's secondary legislation, the change won't go to a vote in parliament.
Former social affairs minister Hristina Hristova backs the reform, saying it will bring more order and fairness to how budget money is spent. She says the key principle for public money is that it should reach the people who actually need it. "Now it's completely clear that the people who need this money will get it," Hristova told reporters.
The change is worrying older people in Bulgaria, since many of them have relied on the extra holiday payments until now.