MPs approve BGN 100 Easter bunus for poorest pensioners only

At an extraordinary meeting of the committee on budget and finance on April 10, MPs decided to give a 100 BGN Easter supplement to pensions only to people with pensions up to the poverty line. Other pensioners will not receive a supplement for the holiday.

The proposal of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) that people with low pensions should get a bonus of 75 BGN each and those with higher pensions 40 BGN was rejected in the committee.

The motive for the change, according to committee chairman Yordan Tsonev, is that giving a supplement of BGN 100 for Easter only to people with small pensions will be done without budget transfers, because such transfers are currently not appropriate.

According to data from the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) announced at last week's meeting, there are about 2,040,000 pensioners in the country. There are 534,000 people with pensions below the poverty line of 526 BGN. About 54 million BGN will be needed for the pension bonuses.

They will be paid with the pensions for May, the NSSI said.