Public Sector Salaries to Rise by 5%, Expected to Be Paid Retroactively in February

We are making every effort to implement a 5% pay increase for employees in the public sector by the end of the month. However, to be honest, I believe this will realistically take effect with February’s payments, with the adjustment applied retroactively from 1 January.

This was stated by outgoing Deputy Finance Minister Kiril Ananiev in response to a question from Plamen Dimitrov, President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), regarding the implementation of the so-called budget extension law. The topic was raised during the meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation.

• Public Sector Salaries to Rise by 5% from January

Revenue is being collected in accordance with existing legislation, and expenditures are made up to the level of spending in the previous period, taking into account acts of the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers that have come into force, Ananiev explained. He noted that the budget extension law provides for different options. In the event that revenues do not meet the projected amounts, expenditures are proportionally reduced in line with the shortfall, with priority given to salaries, social payments, and pensions.

“At present, we are preparing guidelines for ministries, agencies, and municipalities on how to implement the provisions set out in the Public Finance Act and the budget extension law,” Ananiev added.

In December 2025, Parliament passed the so-called budget extension law. The lawmakers approved a one-time adjustment of wages equivalent to the annual inflation rate accumulated by 31 December 2025 for all public sector employees who are not earning the minimum wage.

Source: BTA