Political risks and prospects for the strategic development of the funded pension pillars in BulgariaZhivko MinkovPolitical risks and prospects for the strategic development of the funded pension pillars

This article illustrates and analyses the main problems and political challenges faced by the system of funded pension pillars in Bulgaria. It is motivated by the specific direction in which the pension debate has resumed in the country in the aftermath of the crisis, as well as by recent reform attempts that contravene the multi-pillar design and the complementary balance between the solidarity and funded approaches of meeting retirement risk, on which the new pension model has been developed after 1999. The main goal of the article is to put under critical analysis and evaluation the development and the leading problems of the funded pension pillars system in Bulgaria and to discuss possible reform steps and directions for its future evolution. The article concludes that adequate solutions must be found if the current crisis of trust and legitimacy of the pension model in the country is to be resolved; and that only then can the different pillars of the system have a chance of generating the sorts of pensions required if Bulgarians are to have a decent living standard in retirement.