The 2027 draft budget sets aside €300m more for social policy, with higher child benefits and higher maternity pay in the second year, labour and social policy minister Natalia Efremova said today. She spoke at the presentation of a World Bank Group assessment of poverty and equality in Bulgaria.
About 20-21% of people in Bulgaria live in poverty, or one in five, Efremova said. She said separate steps are not enough and the country needs a steady, full approach.
How it began: World Bank presents report on poverty and the green transition in Sofia
"Cash payments alone are not enough," the minister said. She said income support must come with access to good education, jobs, health care and housing. Benefits should not be seen apart from jobs, schools, hospitals and regional development, she said. The National Strategy for Fighting Poverty to 2030 takes the same approach.
The bank's report, "Green and Inclusive Future: Creating Opportunities Within the Green Transition", was drawn up with the labour and energy ministries. The authors note progress and a fall in absolute poverty. Child poverty, gaps between regions and people who struggle to pay for energy remain lasting problems. Efremova called the report an important guide because it shows both successes and weak spots. Government and civil society representatives discussed its findings and proposals for reform.
The one-off birth grant will be €300 for a first child, €720 for a second and €360 for a third. Monthly child-raising benefits will go up to €30 for one child, €65 for two and €100 for three. Child benefits will reach about 440,000 families.
Families of children with permanent disabilities will get more, up to €704 a month for the highest degree of disability. Maternity pay in the second year rises from €398 to €450 a month. A mother who goes back to work before the end of the second year will get 75%. The ministry is also preparing tax breaks for families with children, including a new break on the cost of courses, sport and other after-school activities.
Under the "Human Resources Development" and "Education" programmes, €146m is set aside over seven years for about 200,000 children. A new operation, "For Every Child", worth €26m, is due to start. It targets the 10 municipalities with the highest vulnerability and child poverty. Bulgaria is also expanding its steps under the European Child Guarantee. Efremova said fewer children are at risk, child mortality is lower, and more young children have access to childcare and education.
From 1 January 2027, social benefits will get more than €114m in extra funding. Support for nearly 770,000 people with disabilities will rise by more than 13%. Some benefits are already paid automatically, without people having to apply, so they spend less time queuing at counters and face less hassle. The ministry is preparing a deeper reform of support for people with disabilities, with a more exact assessment of each person's needs and better targeting of money and services. In the longer term, all types of support now set out in separate laws should be brought together in a Social Protection Code.
The minimum income is now tied to the official poverty line and updated automatically each year. For 2027 the line is €443, up 13.4%, and it has risen 101% in the past five years. The minimum wage will be set in a new way, using social and economic indicators and with more talks between unions and employers.
The goal for 2030 is for 787,000 people to escape the risk of poverty or social exclusion, and for 197,000 fewer children to be at risk. Compared with the 2019 base year, 455,000 fewer people are now at risk. Bulgaria is working on the third two-year plan under the strategy. It focuses on getting more people into work, bringing vulnerable groups into the labour market and preparing for the digital and green transition. Efremova said the state must move from passive to active steps, and not just hand out benefits but create lasting ways for people to support themselves.
19% of Bulgarians struggle to pay for heating. Under the Social Climate Plan, the ministry plans one reform and six investments worth about €700m. The reform brings in a new way to judge which households are vulnerable because of energy and transport prices. €115m will pay for vouchers for more than 30,000 families to replace old stoves with more efficient ones. Another €100m is for repairs and renovation of more than 190 social service buildings, which serve more than 2,200 people with disabilities.
The plan also includes 500 more electric minibuses, which will carry people from remote places on request. About 38,000 people will benefit. More than 6,000 vulnerable working families will get vouchers for bicycles, including electric ones. The plan also provides for direct income support of more than €300m for the poorest households if the new EU emissions trading system, ETS 2, pushes up prices.
More than 350,000 families now get heating aid. Christmas payments of €50 for nearly 500,000 people are also due.
More than €400m is available for training and retraining under the Human Resources Development programme, including vouchers and money for employers who train their staff. This year the state has backed 1,600 Bulgarians who came back from abroad. If they stay in work, they get money after the sixth and the twelfth month, and the support continues. Efremova called this policy a success. The ministry is also preparing a new programme for people of Bulgarian origin born abroad who study or want to live in Bulgaria.
The state also encourages people and families to move from big cities to places with fewer than 50,000 residents. More than 120 applications were filed in the first few days after the scheme opened.