State Gazette, issue 110, Dec. 17, 1999Adopted Dec. 2, 1999

MANDATORY SOCIAL INSURANCE CODE

AMENDED

Subject

Article 1. This Code shall regulate the mandatory public social insurance which shall include public social insurance for general sickness, work injury, occupational sickness, maternity, old age, and death, as well as supplementary mandatory pension insurance.

PART ONE PUBLIC SOCIAL INSURANCE

CHAPTER ONEGENERAL PROVISIONS

Scope of the Insurance

Article 2. Public social insurance shall provide benefits, assistance and pensions in the following cases: 1. temporary incapacity;2. temporarily reduced working capacity;3. disability;4. maternity;5. old age;6. death.

Social Insurance Principles

Article 3. Public social insurance shall be performed on the basis of the following principles:1. mandatory participation and comprehensiveness of the insurance;2. solidarity of the insured persons;3. equality of the insured persons;4. social dialogue in the management of the social insurance system;5. fund organization of insurance funds.

Insured Persons

Article 4. /1/ The following persons shall be obliged to be insured for all insurance risks under this code:1. workers employed for more than five working days or 40 hours, in one calendar month regardless of

the nature of the work, the way of payment, and the source of funding;2. government employees;

3. permanent military staff under the Law for the Defense and Armed Forces of Bulgaria, officers and sergeants , the civil servants - officers and sergeants as well as civilians under the Law for the Ministry of the Interior, as well as individuals under § 19 of the transition and final provisions of the Penalty Enforcement Law;

4. individuals employed as cooperative members compensated for their labor;5. individuals working under a second or additional labor contract;6. individuals working under contracts for management and control of commercial partnerships./2/ The following individuals shall be insured for work injury and occupational sickness only: The following individuals shall be obliged to be insured only for work injury and occupational sickness in case they are hired by one or more employers for not more than 5 working days (40 hours) during one calendar month, and if the remuneration they receive from each of the employers does not exceed the amount of one minimum salary:

1. individuals hired by only one employer for no more than five working days (40 hours) in one calendar month if their compensation does not exceed one minimum wage; when their compensation exceeds one minimum wage these individuals shall be subject to insurance for all social insurance risks;

2. individuals working without a labor relation with monthly compensation amounting to up to one minimum wage;

3. students during their professional specialization or training practice./3/ The following individuals shall be obliged to be insured for disability due to general sickness, old age, and death:1. individuals registered as freelance professionals and/or craftsmen;2. individuals performing economic activity as sole traders, owners or partners in commercial

partnerships;3. Ph.D. students if they do not have pension insurance on other premises;4. private farmers;5. individuals working without labor relations and receiving compensation equal to or exceeding one

minimum wage after deduction of the allowable expenses./4/ Individuals under paragraph 3, items 1,2 and 4 may, by their own choice, be insured for all insurance events with the exception of work injury and occupational sickness./5/ Individuals assigned to work abroad by a Bulgarian intermediary may be insured for general sickness disability, for old age and death, on a selected insured income from two to ten minimum wages established for the country./6/ Pensioners who participate in paid work pursuant to 3, items 1,2, 4 and 5 of the present document may insure themselves by choice.

Insurers

Article 5. /1/ Insurer shall be any individual, legal entity or its branches, as well as other organizations obliged by law to make insurance contributions for other individuals./2/ Self-insured persons shall be individuals obliged to make insurance contributions entirely at their own account. /3/ Insurers shall be obliged to provide the National Social Security Institute with periodical information concerning insured income, social insurance contributions, health insurance, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund, and supplementary mandatory pension insurance, insurance payments, and length of service separately for each worker./4/ The information under paragraph 3 above shall also be provided to the National Social Security Institute by the individuals under paragraph 2.

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/5/ The National Social Security Institute shall issue instructions with regard to the terms, content, manner and procedures for presenting and keeping the information under paragraph 3. /6/ The insurer shall be obliged, upon request by the insured person or his representative, to issue all required documents concerning length of participation and insured income within 14 days.

Insurance Contributions

Article 6. /1/ Contribution rates for all public social insurance funds shall be determined separately for each fund by the Law for the Public Social Security Budget in accordance with the covered social insurance risks./2/ Insurance contributions for individuals under art. 4, paragraph 1, items 2 and 3, excluding contributions for officers and sergeants under art. 86 and art. 120, in relation to art. 86 of the Law for the Ministry of the Interior, shall be at the account of the state budget./3/ Insurance contributions to the Pension Fund and to General Sickness and Maternity Fund shall be made as follows:1. for persons under art. 4, paragraph 1, items 1, 4, 5, and 6, and for officers and sergeants under art. 86

and art. 120 in relation to art. 86 of the Law for the Ministry of the Interior - by insurers and insured persons in the following ratio;

a) in 2000 – 2001 – 80:20;b) in 2002 – 75:25;c) in 2003 – 70:30;d) in 2004 – 65:35;e) in 2005 – 60:40;f) in 2006 – 55:45;g) in 2007 and after – 50:50.

1. for persons under art. 4, paragraph 3, items 1 - 4 – personally by the insured persons or through insurance funds;

2. for persons under art. 4, paragraph 3, item 5 – by the assignor and the insured person in the ratio under item 1 above.

/4/ Insurance contributions to Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund shall be at the account of the insurers./5/ Insurance contributions in the amount paid to the Pension Fund in the ratio under paragraph 3 item 1, shall be paid on social expenses incurred as permanent or periodical payments to workers in cash or in kind./6/ Insurance contributions paid by employers and assignors may not be deducted from the compensation of the insured persons. It may not be reduced with the amount of the contribution./7/ Upon retirement, insurance contributions shall be paid on the minimum wage, through the date of granting of the pension, for the period credited as length of service for individuals who have completed their military draft, and for unemployed mothers. These contributions shall be at the account of the state budget./8/ Insurance contributions for the period credited as length of participation to individuals who have received unemployment benefits, shall be paid from Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund./9/ Insurance contributions shall be deposited in banks or in post branches and offices in the manner determined by the NSSI and Bulgarian Posts EAD in the respective accounts of the public social insurance./10/ Insurers shall pay insurance contributions with separate payment orders for each month by transferring amounts from their accounts to the respective account of the public social insurance and supplementary mandatory pension insurance upon payment of wages, including the case when such

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payments are made in advance. When amounts are withdrawn for payments, or upon discharge or leave, in addition to the regular payment of wages or advance payments, there shall not be a separate payment order – these amounts shall be included in the payment order for the first subsequent payment of insurance contributions./11/ Banks shall not allow withdrawal for payment of salaries, including for advance payments, without presenting simultaneously a payment order for the transfer of the insurance contributions due. Banks shall allow the withdrawal of funds for payment of wages, including advance payments, only after they have received a payment order for transfer of insurance contributions and a declaration by the insurer that all contributions due to the public social insurance, health insurance, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and supplementary mandatory pension insurance have been paid/12/ Insurers, who do not have bank accounts, shall deposit the insurance contributions in cash in banks in the respective account of the public social insurance./13/ The share of the insurance contributions paid at the account of the insured persons under art. 6, paragraph 3, item 1, shall be deposited at the time of payment of salaries and shall not be deducted from the advance payment except for the cases when only advance has been paid for the respective month.

Terms for Payment of Insurance Contributions

Article 7. /1/ Insurance contributions for public social insurance, which are paid at the account of the insurers, shall be paid simultaneously with the payment of the wage or a part thereof./2/ Insurance contributions paid at the account of the insured person under art. 4, paragraph 1, shall be paid upon payment of the wage or any other compensation./3/ Insurance contributions for persons working without a labor relation and persons paying insurance contributions entirely at their account, as well as for all other cases, shall be paid by the tenth day of each month following the month for which they are due./4/ Private farmers only involved in farming only and insured only for general sickness disability, old age and death, may pay their contributions by March 31 of the year following the year for which they are due.

Insurance Funds

Article 8. /1/ For the purposes of insurance of persons under art. 4, paragraph 3, item 1 - 4, legal entities and individuals, who are insured entirely at their own account, may form insurance funds which shall be registered at the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute./1/ Individuals under art.4, para 3, items 1, 2 and 4, as well as legal entities, may form insurance funds which shall be registered in the regional office of the NSSI. Insurance funds shall perform the insurance of their funds. Insurers who are members of these insurance funds and who have up to ten employees, may perform their insurance, as well as he insurance of individuals working for them without a labor relation, through these insurance funds./2/ Insurance funds shall perform insurance of their members individuals under paragraph 1:1. collecting insurance contributions due and transferring them to public social insurance funds; 2. shall collect the contributions due for public social insurance supplementary mandatory pension

insurance, health insurance, Professional Qualification and Unemployment, and shall transfer them to the respective accounts of the NSSI.”

3. in case of occurrence of an insurance event they shall pay benefits and assistance due to the insured persons;

4. forming and maintaining documentation related to the insurance of the members of the fund.

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/3/ The terms and conditions for establishment and functioning of insurance funds, shall be regulated by an act of the Council of Ministers upon proposal of the National Social Security Institute.

Insured Income

Article 9. /1/ The insured income shall include all kinds of compensations and other earnings from employment on which insurance contributions are due./2/ The insured income used for calculation of insurance contributions may not exceed the amount of ten times the minimum wage for the respective month for which the compensation is received or the income on which insurance contributions are due./3/ The monthly insured income for all individuals under art. 4, paragraph 2, item 3, shall be one minimum wage./4/ Individuals under art. 4, paragraph 3, items 1 – 3, shall be obliged to be insured on the basis of a monthly income determined by them, which may not be smaller than two times the minimum wage, and may not exceed ten times the minimum wage, and for individuals under art. 4, paragraph 3, item 4 – on the basis of income not smaller than one minimum wage and not more than ten times the minimum wage. The final amount of the insured income shall be determined for each calendar year on the basis of the individual’s tax return and may not be smaller than two times the minimum wage and may not exceed ten times the minimum wage during the twelve months of the year. In these cases, insurance contributions shall be paid in the amount determined for insurance for disability due to sickness, for old age and for death. Individuals under art.4, para 3, items 1 and 2, shall be insured on a monthly income chosen by them, which may not be smaller than two times the minimum wage and not higher than ten times that amount./5/ Insurance contributions to the Pension Fund shall be made on the benefit for temporary incapacity or pregnancy and birth giving which shall be recognized as length of service. In these cases, insurance contributions shall be equal to the part due by the employer and shall be paid only by the employer. The same amount shall be paid by individuals who are insured at their account./6/ Insurance contributions at the account of Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund shall be calculated on the basis of the amount of the benefit paid to the insured person during the period recognized as length of participation and shall be in the amount determined for the Pension Fund./7/ The items of the compensation, as well as the earnings on which insurance contributions are paid, shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers upon proposal by the National Social Security Institute. /5/ Individuals under art.4, para 3, item 4 shall be insured on income not smaller than the minimum wage and not higher than ten times that amount. Insurance contributions for private farmers, registered on legal grounds, who perform only farming, may be paid by funds for support of farmers in the manner determined by the Council of Ministers.

/6/ The final amount of the insured income of individuals under para 4 shall be determined for each calendar year on the basis of the individual’s tax return and may not be smaller than two times the minimum wage and may not exceed ten times the minimum wage for the twelve months of the year. In these cases contributions shall be paid in the amount determined for insurance for general sickness disability, old age and death. No final amount of the insured income shall be determined for individuals performing activity only as private farmers.

/7/ For individuals involved in farming only no final amount of the insured income shall be determined.

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/8/ Insurance contributions to the Pension Fund shall be made on the benefit for temporary incapacity or pregnancy and birth giving which shall be recognized as length of service. In these cases, insurance contributions shall be equal to the part due by the employer and shall be paid only by the employer. The same amount shall be paid by individuals who are insured at their account./9/ Insurance contributions at the account of Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund shall be calculated on the basis of the amount of the benefit paid to the insured person during the period recognized as length of participation and shall be in the amount determined for the Pension Fund./10/ The items of the compensation, as well as the earnings on which insurance contributions are paid, shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers upon proposal by the National Social Security Institute.

Commencement, Duration, and Termination of the Insurance

Article 10. /1/ The insurance of workers and employees shall commence on the day they start the performance of their obligations under the employment or official relation and shall continue throughout the entire period during which the persons have fulfilled their obligations under these relations. /2/ The following periods shall also be recognized as length of participation:

1. paid and unpaid leave for raising a small child;2. unpaid leaves for temporary incapacity;3. unpaid leave up to 30 days in one calendar year;4. the period during which the worker or employee has not worked due to incorrect prevention

from work or suspension from work;5. the period during which the worker or employee has been unemployed due to discharge

officially recognized as illegitimate by the competent bodies – from the date of discharge until the person’s reinstatement in his/her former position;

6. the period during which a person discharged due to detention by the authorities has become unemployed as a result of that, when he/she has not been prosecuted, has been acquitted or the penal proceedings have been terminated because the person has not committed the crime or the act is not a criminal offence;

7. the period during which the person has been in prison which has subsequently been announced as incorrectly imposed;

8. the period during which the person, transferred to a more appropriate job, or the pregnant worker has not worked because the employer has not provided an appropriate position in accordance with the prescription of the health bodies;

9. during which the individual has received unemployment benefits from Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund

10. During which the individual has received unemployment benefits pursuant to the Labor Code, the Civil Servant Act, the Higher Education Act, the Defense and Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria Act and the Ministry of the Interior Act.

/3/ The length of participation under paragraph 2, items 1, 2 and 3 shall be recognized without payment of insurance contributions. /4/ The period recognized as length of participation under paragraph 2, items 4, 5, 6, and 7, shall be covered with insurance contributions for the entire period recognized as length of participation, determined on the last salary prior to discharge or prevention from work. Insurance contributions under paragraph 2, item 8, 9 and 10 shall be paid on the respective benefits. Insurance contributions shall be paid in the amount determined for the Pension Fund and shall be paid entirely at the account of the

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employer in the cases under paragraph 2, items 4, 5 and 8, and for the cases under paragraph 2, items 6 and 7 – at the account of the republican budget. Contributions under paragraph 2, item 10 for individuals working under labor contract shall be paid in accordance with the ratio under art. 6, paragraph 3./5/ The period during which the parent (step-parent) or spouse took care of disabled persons with over 90 per cent lost working capacity needing constant care, due to which the former were not insured and did not receive pension, shall be considered length of participation at retirement. At retirement contributions for the period considered length of participation shall be paid from the state budget through the date of granting of pension./5/ /6/ The terms and conditions for insurance of individuals who do not work under an employment or official relation, as well as of workers and employees who, due to the nature of their work, do not work throughout the whole year or do not have strictly fixed working time or basic compensation, as well as individuals working abroad under a contract with a Bulgarian employer or with the mediation of a Bulgarian organization, shall be settled by an act of the Council of Ministers upon proposal of the National Social Security Institute.

Insurance Rights of Persons Insured for All Insurance Risks

Article 11. /1/ Persons insured for all insurance risks shall be entitled to:1. cash benefits for:

a) temporary incapacity due to general sickness, work injury and occupational sickness, for sanatorium treatment and urgent medical tests or examination, quarantine, suspension from work upon prescription of the medical bodies, sick person care or a quarantined family member care, urgent accompanying of a sick family member for medical examination, tests or treatment, as well as for healthy child care suspended from kindergarten due to a quarantine at the kindergarten or of the child;

b) labor readjustment in the event of temporarily reduced working capacity due to general sickness, work injury or occupational sickness;

c) labor readjustment due to pregnancy and breast feeding;d) pregnancy and birth giving;e) child raising;

2. cash benefits for:a) disability due to general sickness when there are no grounds for granting a pension;b) prevention and rehabilitation;c) ancillary equipment related to the injury;

3. pensions for:a) length of participation and old age;b) disability due to work injury or occupational sickness;c) disability due to general sickness.

/2/ In case of death of the insured person his/her spouse, children and parents shall be eligible for survivor pension and a lump sum benefit amounting to two times the minimum wage.

Insurance Rights of Individuals Insured Only for Work Injury and Occupational Sickness

Article 12. /1/ Individuals insured for work injury and occupational sickness only shall be entitled to the following:

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1. cash benefits for temporary incapacity due to work injury or occupational sickness, sanatorium treatment, urgent medical examination, medical tests and/or treatment;

2. cash benefits for prevention and rehabilitation;3. disability pension for work injury or occupational sickness;4. amounts for ancillary equipment related to the injury./2/ In case of death of the insured person, caused by the work injury or the occupational sickness, his/her spouse, children and parents shall be eligible for survivor pension and a lump sum benefit amounting to two times the minimum wage.

Rights of Persons Insured Only for General Sickness Disability, Old Age and Death

Article 13. /1/ Individuals insured only for general sickness disability, old age and death, shall be entitled to:1. general sickness disability pension;2. old age and length of participation pension;3. amounts for ancillary equipment related to the injury./2/ In case of death of the insured person, his/her spouse, children and parents shall be eligible for survivor pension and a lump sum benefit amounting to two times the minimum wage.

Working Capacity Evaluation

Article 14. /1/ Working capacity evaluations shall be organized and managed by the Ministry of Health./2/ The degree of permanently reduced working capacity shall be determined as a percentage in comparison with the capacity of a healthy person. /3/ The principles and criteria of working capacity evaluations, as well as the manner for establishment of working capacity, shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers.

Working Capacity Evaluation Bodies

Article 15. /1/ Evaluation of temporary incapacity shall be performed by the respective medical doctors, the medical advisory committees, territorial boards of health experts (TBHE) and the National Board of Health Experts (NBHE)./2/ Evaluation of permanent incapacity shall be performed by the territorial boards of health experts (TBHE) and the National Board of Health Experts (NBHE).

Appealing Decisions of Evaluation Bodies

Article 16. /1/ Appeals and objections on behalf of interested persons and bodies (certified individuals, employers, controlling bodies, the National Social Security Institute and its branches, etc.) shall be raised:1. against decisions of the respective medical doctor - before the director of the medical institutions or

the Advisory Medical Board, if any;2. against decisions of the director of the medical institution and the Advisory Medical Board - within

14 days following their receipt, before the Territorial Board of Health Experts;3. against decisions of the Territorial Board of Health Experts – within 14 days following their receipt,

before the National Board of Health Experts;

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4. against decisions of the National Board of Health Experts – before regional courts in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Proceedings Code.

/2/ Working capacity evaluation bodies may also, upon their own initiative, repeal or amend incorrect decisions of bodies under them, as well as send back their decisions for elimination of errors or incompleteness. /3/ The director of the National Board of Health Experts may assign reconsideration of incorrect or contradictory decisions by its members.

Implementation of Decisions

Article 17. All decisions of working capacity evaluation bodies, which have not been subject to appeal, or the respective appeals have been completed, shall apply to all individuals, bodies and organizations in the country.

CHAPTER TWO

FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

Insurance Funds

Article 18. Public social security funds under this Code shall be allocated in:a) the Pension Fund;b) the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund;c) the General Sickness and Maternity Fund.

Budget of the Funds

Article 19. /1/ The Parliament shall adopt the Law for the Public Social Security Budget which shall include the budgets of the funds under art. 18 and the budget of the National Social Security Institute, and shall be effective for one calendar year./2/ The draft law for the budget of the public social security shall be prepared by the National Social Security Institute and shall be presented to the Council of Ministers for coordination with the draft state budget. The Ministry of Finance shall present to the National Social Security Institute the main indicators for the draft budget of the social security after the adoption of the macroeconomic framework of the state budget./3/ The draft law under paragraph 2 shall be prepared in accordance with a complete budget classification for the state budget./4/ The Law for the Public Social Insurance Budget shall determine a general reserve for all funds under art. 18, formed by reallocations in accordance with a rate determined under the Law for the Public Social Security Budget, on the basis of an insurance technical plan. The revenue from deficiency acts shall also be allocated to this reserve./5/ The draft law for the budget of the public social security shall be reviewed by the Parliament simultaneously with the draft law for the state budget./6/ In the event that the budget of the public social insurance is not adopted by the Parliament by the beginning of the budget year, insurance revenues shall be collected and insurance expenditures shall be

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incurred in accordance with the active legislation, and up to one twelfth of the expenses provided for in the budget of the previous year may be used for the National Social Security Institute bodies.

Budget of the National Social Security Institute

Article 20. /1/ The budget of the National Social Security Institute shall be part of the consolidated budget of the public social insurance and shall be developed in accordance with the revenue and expenditure items of the budget classification./2/ The revenue to the budget of the National Social Security Institute shall be formed as:1. a percentage of the income from insurance contributions to the Pension Fund, the General Sickness

and Maternity Fund, and the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund;2. a percentage of the income from health insurance contributions;3. a percentage of the income from contributions to Professional Qualification and Unemployment

Fund;4. a percentage of the income from insurance contributions for mandatory supplementary pension

insurance;5. loans;6. non-tax revenue./3/ The expenditures of the budget of the National Social Security Institute shall be allocated for:1. expenditures for activities related to public social insurance and for activities related to health

insurance, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund, for mandatory supplementary pension insurance (the collection and control of insurance contributions);

2. capital expenditures (for acquisition of fixed tangible assets, non-tangible assets and general repair), related to the overall activity of the National Social Security Institute;

3. expenditures for paying off loans./4/ The percentages under paragraph 2 shall be determined in the Law for the Public Social Insurance Budget./5/ The expenditures under paragraph 3 shall be determined by the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute upon proposal by the Director.

Pension Fund Revenues

Article 21. /1/ The revenues of the Pension Fund shall be raised from:1. insurance contributions from insurers, insured persons and self-insured persons;2. insurance contributions and revenue as provided for by other laws for general sickness disability, old

age and death insurance;3. amounts from the state budget intended for insurance of individuals under art. 4, paragraph 1, items 2

and 3 and art. 6, paragraph 7;4. amounts from the republican budget intended for:

a) payment of pensions for which no insurance contributions have been paid, and for indexation, compensations, and supplements to them;

b) supplements to pensions of war veterans;c) subsidies under the State Budget Law for the current fiscal year;d) insurance contributions in the cases provided in this Code.

5. reimbursement of insurance expenses incurred in the cases under the respective laws and regulations;6. fines and penal interest;7. fees as determined in a tariff by the Council of Ministers;

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8. interest and dividends;9. donations and bequests;10. amounts from Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund for individuals under art. 6,

paragraph 8;11. other sources.

Expenditures of the Pension Fund

Article 22. The resources of the Pension Fund shall be appropriated for the following:1. payment of pensions and supplements to them with the exception of pensions under art. 24;2. updating, indexation and compensation of pensions;3. other expenses related to pension insurance.

Revenue to Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund Article 23. /1/ The revenue of the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund shall be raised from:1. insurance contributions;2. amounts from the state budget for insurance of persons under art. 4, paragraph 1, items 2 and 3;3. revenue as provided for by other laws for work injury and occupational sickness insurance;4. reimbursement of insurance expenses incurred in the cases under the respective laws and regulations;5. fines and penal interest;6. fees as determined in a tariff of the Council of Ministers;7. interest and dividends;8. donations and bequests;9. other sources.

Expenditures of the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund

Article 24. The resources of the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund shall be appropriated for the following:1. payment of cash benefits, pensions and assistance;2. updating, indexation and compensation of cash benefits, pensions and assistance;3. activities for prevention of work injuries and occupational sicknesses;4. ancillary equipment related to the injury;5. other expenses related to work injury and occupational sickness insurance.

Revenue to General Sickness and Maternity Fund

Article 25. The revenue of the General Sickness and Maternity Fund shall be raised from:1. insurance contributions;2. amounts from the state budget for insurance of persons under art. 4, paragraph 1, items 2 and 3;3. revenue as provided for by other laws for general sickness and maternity insurance;4. reimbursement of insurance expenses incurred in the cases under the respective laws and regulations;5. fines and penal interest;6. fees as determined in a tariff of the Council of Ministers;

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7. interest and dividends;8. donations and inheritances;9. other sources.

Expenditures of the General Sickness and Maternity Fund

Article 26. The resources of the General Sickness and Maternity Fund shall be appropriated for the following:1. payment of cash benefits and assistance;2. updating, indexation and compensation of cash benefits, pensions and assistance;3. funding of activities for reduction of general sicknesses;4. ancillary equipment;5. other expenses related to general sickness and maternity insurance.

Short -Term Interest-Free Loans to the Funds

Article 27. In the event of temporary deficiency of resources in the funds necessary for payment of immediate insurance benefits, short-term interest-free loans may be taken from the republican budget and from funds with social purpose, up to the amount of their reserves, by instruction of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, upon proposal by the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute.

Investment of Free Funds

Article 28. Temporarily free funds in the public social security funds may be invested in deposit accounts in banks under art. 29 or may be used for acquisition of government securities.

Bank Services

Article 29. Banks authorized to operate with resources of the public social security funds shall be determined by the Bulgarian National Bank and by the Ministry of Finance. The Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute shall choose the banks authorized to operate with the funds from the list of banks determined by the Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance.

Implementation of the Budget

Article 30. /1/ The implementation of the public social security budget shall be performed by the National Social Security Institute./2/ The primary manager of the public social security budget shall be the director of the National Social Security Institute. /3/ Secondary managers of the public social security budget in the territorial offices of the National Social Security Institute shall be their directors.

Annual Report

Article 31. /1/ The annual report for the implementation of the public social security budget shall be drawn up by the National Social Security Institute and shall be submitted to the Parliament by the

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director of the National Social Security Institute for adoption simultaneously with the report for the implementation of the state budget./2/ The decision of the parliament for adoption of the report for the implementation of the public social security budget shall be promulgated in the State Gazette.

CHAPTER THREE

MANAGEMENT

Functions of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy

Art. 32. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy shall develop, coordinate and implement the government policy related to public social insurance.

National Social Security Institute

Article 33. /1/ The public social security shall be managed by the National Social Security Institute. This institute shall report to the Parliament./2/ The National Social Security Institute shall be a legal entity with head office in Sofia. The institute shall establish its territorial offices./3/ The National Social Security Institute shall:1. implement the budget of the public social insurance;2. collect insurance contributions and all receivables of the public social insurance;3. collect insurance contributions:

a) for health insurance;b) for Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund;c) for supplementary mandatory pension insurance.

4. control the compliance with the insurance legislation;5. organize the activity related to detection of administrative violations and administrative penalties;6. pay out pensions and organize other insurance benefit payments;7. collect information and maintain an information system for insured persons, insurers and self-insured

persons;8. organize activities related to preparation and implementation of international agreements in the

sphere of public social insurance. /4/ The functions of the National Social Security Institute related to collection of contributions under paragraph 3, items 2 and 3, and distribution of collected amounts, shall be regulated in accordance with an act of the Council of Ministers.

Managing Bodies

Article 34. Managing bodies of the National Social Security Institute shall be:1. the Supervisory Board;2. the Director and Deputy Director.

Supervisory Board

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Article 35. /1/ The Supervisory Board shall be comprised of one representative of each representative organization of the workers and employers recognized in accordance with art. 3 of the Labor Code and an equal number of representatives determined by the Council of Ministers./2/ The representatives of the workers’ and employers’ organizations under paragraph 1 shall be determined by their managing bodies at a national level./3/ The mandate of the Supervisory Board shall be four years./4/ The list of members of the Supervisory Board, as well as all changes in this list, shall be promulgated by its chairman in the State Gazette./5/ The members of the Supervisory Board shall appoint a chairman among themselves on a rotation principle./6/ The Supervisory Board shall be convened by the chairman or upon request by one third of its members./7/ The meetings of the Supervisory Board shall be regular if they have been attended by at least one half of all members. Decisions shall be made if more than one half of all members of the Supervisory Board have voted./8/ The director of the National Social Security Institute shall participate in the meetings of the Supervisory Board with a deliberative vote.

Functions of the Supervisory Board

Article 36. The Supervisory Board shall:1. determine the main directions of the activity of the National Social Security Institute;2. approve the drafts of the annual budget of Social Security Fund and the respective report;3. exercise control on the activity of the National Social Security Institute, its Board of Managers, its

Director and Deputy Director;4. approve draft laws for public social security before their submission for adoption by the respective

government bodies;5. adopt Rules for the organization and operation of the National Social Security Institute, and Rules for

the operation of the Supervisory Board;6. upon request by debtors to the public social security funds, in exceptional cases of financial

difficulties, the Supervisory Board may defer the payment of receivables over 100 thousand leva for a period of up to three years; deferred payments shall be collected with the respective legal interest;

7. make decisions for writing off bad debts after completion of liquidation proceedings of the insurers;8. make decisions for acquisition and disposal with National Social Security Institute property above the

amount determined by the Rules for Organization and Activity of the National Social Security Institute;

9. make decisions for appropriation of funds from the reserve of the public social insurance budget;10. make decisions for acquisition of real estate by the National Social Security Institute against

liabilities to the public social insurance funds;11. determine the compensation of the director and deputy director.

Director and Deputy Director

Article 37. /1/ The director and the deputy director of the National Social Security Institute shall be appointed by the Parliament for a period of four years.

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/2/ The director of the National Social Security Institute shall act on behalf of the institute, shall organize and manage its activity and shall represent it before all individuals and legal entities in the country and abroad. /3/ In the absence of the director his functions shall be undertaken by the deputy director. The deputy director may perform functions assigned to him/her by the director. The deputy director shall convene and chair the meetings of the Board of Managers./4/ The director and the deputy director may be discharged before the expiration of this period if they have been convicted for a general criminal offense and a sentence has come into effect, if they regularly fail to fulfill their obligations, if they have been impeded from performing them for a period longer than six months, or if they have filed a resignation before the Parliament./5/ The director shall:1. perform the operation management of the National Social Security Institute;2. determine instructions, insurance related forms and other documents mandatory for all individuals

and legal entities in the country;3. present for approval of the Supervisory Board:

a) the draft budget of the public social insurance;b) a draft report for the implementation of the budget of the public social insurance;c) draft legislation for public social insurance;d) draft rules for the organization and operation of the National Social Security Institute;e) draft decisions for appropriation of the reserve in the budget of the public social insurance;

4. establish and close down offices of the National Social Security Institute and determine their structure and budget;

5. make transactions for disposal with the property of the National Social Security Institute up to the amount determined in the rules for organization and operation of the National Social Security Institute;

6. upon request of debtors to the public social insurance, in exceptional cases, payment of arrears from 10,000 to 100,000 leva may be deferred for a period up to three years; deferred payments shall be collected with the respective legal interest;

7. determine the distribution of capital investment for management of National Social Security Institute property.

8. approve and announce the insured income under art. 70.

Board of Managers

Art. 38. /1/ The director shall be assisted by a Board of Managers of the National Social Security Institute which shall be comprised of the managers of the functional departments of the institute and the deputy director./2/ The meetings of the Board of Managers shall be deemed regular if two thirds of the members have attended them. Decisions shall be made with ordinary majority. /3/ The Board of Managers shall propose to the director draft decisions in relation to his/her authorities under art. 37, paragraph 5.

Requirements to the Members of the Supervisory Board, the Director and Deputy Director

Article 39. /1/ Members of the Supervisory Board, director and deputy director may not be:1. persons who have been deprived of the right to take managerial, reporting or financial responsibility

position;2. persons who are members of managing or controlling bodies of other insurance funds;3. persons convicted for criminal offense;

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4. persons who have been members of managing bodies of economic organizations terminated due to bankruptcy if certain creditors have been unsatisfied;

5. persons who have direct or collateral relation or in-law relation up to fourth degree with members of the Supervisory Board, the director and the deputy director.

CHAPTER FOUR

BENEFITS

Part IBenefits for Temporary Incapacity and Labor Readjustment

Eligibility for Benefits

Article 40. /1/ The insured persons shall be entitled to a cash benefit in lieu of employment compensation for the leave due to temporary incapacity provided that they have at least 6 months of participation./2/ The requirement under paragraph 1 shall not apply to eligibility for cash benefits for temporary incapacity due to work injury and occupational sickness, pregnancy and birth giving, and to insured persons below the age of 18./3/ Cash benefits for temporary incapacity, assistance, and other benefits from the public social insurance, shall be paid through the insurers. /4/ Cash benefits for the first three working days of the temporary incapacity, but for no longer than 15 working days in one calendar year, shall be at the account of the insurers.

Remuneration on the Basis of Which the Benefit is Determined

Article 41. /1/ The daily cash benefit for temporary incapacity due to general sickness shall be calculated as 80 per cent, and for temporary incapacity due to work injury and occupational sickness, as 90 per cent of the average daily gross wage or the average insured income on which insurance contributions have been paid for the period of six calendar months preceding the month of occurrence of the incapacity. The daily cash benefit for temporary incapacity due to general sickness may not exceed the average daily net wage for the period for which the benefit is calculated./2/ For the days included in the period under paragraph 1 the average daily minimum wage established for the country for the respective period shall be taken into consideration provided that the worker:1. is not insured for all social insurance events;2. is not insured for all insurance events without work injury and occupational sickness;3. has used unpaid leave which is recognized as length of service;4. has used child care leave. /3/ The amount of the benefit shall be taken into account for the days included in the period under paragraph 1 during which the person has received cash benefits from the social security for temporary incapacity or for pregnancy and birth giving./4/ The method of benefit calculation shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers.

Terms of Benefit Payment

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Article 42. /1/ The cash benefit for temporary incapacity due to general sickness, work injury and occupational sickness shall be paid from the first day of the occurrence until working capacity is regained or disability is established./2/ When the temporary incapacity has occurred within up to 2 months following the termination of the labor contract or the insurance of the worker, the cash benefit shall be paid for the duration of the incapacity but not longer than 75 calendar days. /2/ When the temporary incapacity due to general sickness, work injury or occupational sickness has occurred within up to 2 months following the termination of the labor contract or the insurance of the worker, the cash benefit shall be paid for the duration of the incapacity but not longer than 75 calendar days. In these cases cash benefit shall not be paid to individuals receiving pension or unemployment benefits paid by the employer under the Labor Code, the Civil Servant Act, the Higher Education Act, the Defense and Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria Act and the Ministry of the Interior Act./3/ When the temporary incapacity has occurred before the termination of a labor relation for a certain period, the cash benefit shall be paid for not more than 75 calendar days after the termination of the labor relation.

Benefits for Quarantine or Suspension

Article 43. Cash benefits for temporary incapacity due to quarantine or suspension by prescription by the health bodies shall be paid for:1. the period during which the insured person has been under quarantine;2. the period of suspension if the job of the insured person cannot be readjusted for this period but for

no longer than 90 calendar days in one calendar year.

Sanatorium Treatment Benefits

Article 44. Incapacitated individuals who are assigned sanatorium treatment by the health bodies shall be paid a cash benefit for the entire treatment including up to 3 calendar days for travel, in accordance with the amounts determined for general sickness or for work injury and occupational sickness, respectively.

Benefits for Care of a Sick Family Member

Article 45. /1/ Cash benefits under the terms and conditions and in the amount of the cash benefit for temporary incapacity due to general sickness shall also be paid for:1. care or urgent accompanying for medical examination, tests or treatment in the country or abroad, of

a sick family member over the age of 18 - up to 10 calendar days per calendar year for each insured person;

2. care or urgent accompanying for medical examination, tests or treatment in the country or abroad, of a sick child below the age of 18 - up to 60 calendar days per calendar year for all insured family members. This period shall not include the time for child care under items 3 – 5;

3. care of a quarantined child up to 18 years of age having a contagious disease - until the expiration of the quarantine;

4. care of a sick child up to 3 years of age staying in a hospital with the insured person - for the period during which the insured person has stayed in the hospital;

5. care of a healthy child sent back from a kindergarten due to quarantine - for the duration of the quarantine.

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/2/ For one and the same insurance event for one and the same period of time, cash benefit under paragraph 1 may only be paid to one insured family member./3/ For care of a family member suffering from a chronic sickness, cash benefit shall only be paid in case of aggravation./4/ Family members shall be the husband, wife and their direct descending and ascending relatives.

Cases for Which Benefit Shall not Be Paid

Article 46. /1/ Cash benefit for temporary incapacity shall not be paid to insured persons who:1. deliberately damage their health in order to obtain leave or benefit;2. violate the regime determined by the health bodies - only for the days of violation;3. have lost their working capacity due to consumption of alcohol, strong narcotic substances without

medical prescription, or due to actions performed under the influence of such substances;4. have lost their working capacity due to misdemeanor and other actions violating the public order,

which have been determined in the respective manner;5. have lost their working capacity due to failure to comply with the labor safety rules, determined in the

respective manner./2/ In the cases under paragraph 1, items 3 and 4 the period for which benefits shall not be paid shall not exceed 15 calendar days, and in the case under item 5 – not longer than 3 calendar days.

Cash Benefit in Case of Labor Readjustment

Article 47. /1/ In the event of labor readjustment due to temporarily reduced working capacity resulting from general sickness, work injury or occupational sickness, the insured person shall be paid a cash benefit if his/her remuneration at his/her new job is lower./2/ The daily cash benefit shall amount to the difference between the average daily wage during the six months preceding the labor readjustment, and the average daily wage received after the labor readjustment. When the insured person has worked less than 6 months as of the day of labor readjustment the compensation shall be determined as a difference between the average daily wage as determined under art. 41 and the average daily wage received after the labor readjustment. /3/ The cash benefit under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be paid for the period of labor readjustment but not longer than 6 calendar months.

Part II

Maternity Benefits

Benefits for Labor Readjustment due to Pregnancy or Breast Feeding

Article 48. /1/ In the event of labor readjustment to another job due to pregnancy or breast feeding of a child, the insured woman shall be paid a cash benefit if her wage at the new job is reduced./2/ The daily cash benefit shall amount to the difference between the average daily wage received during the six months preceding the month of labor readjustment and the average daily wage received after the labor readjustment. When the insured woman has worked less than 6 months as of the day of labor readjustment the benefit shall be determined as a difference between the average daily wage as determined under art. 41 and the average daily wage received after the labor readjustment.

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/3/ In the event that on her new job the insured woman’s average daily wage is smaller than the minimum daily wage established for the country or the average wage as determined in accordance with art. 41 is smaller than the minimum wage established for the country, the daily benefit shall amount to the difference between the average daily wage received before the labor readjustment and the minimum daily wage established for the country.

Benefits for Pregnancy and Birth Giving

Article 49. /1/ The daily cash benefit for pregnancy and birth giving shall amount to 90 per cent of the average daily wage or of the insured income as determined under art. 41. /2/ The daily cash benefit may not be smaller than the minimum daily wage established for the country and may not exceed the average daily net wage for the period for which the benefit is calculated.

Terms for Payment of Cash Benefits for Pregnancy and Birth Giving

Article 50. /1/ A woman insured for all insurance events shall be entitled to a cash benefit for pregnancy and birth giving for a period of 135 calendar days of which 45 days prior to birth giving./2/ When the birth giving takes place before the expiration of the 45 day period from the beginning of the leave, the remainder of the 45 day period shall be used after the birth giving. /3/ When the child is born dead, dies or is given to a budget funded orphanage or for adoption, the mother shall be entitled to a leave of up to 42 days after the birth giving. If the working ability of the mother is not regained within 42 days after the birth giving, this leave shall be extended by decision of the health bodies until working ability is regained. Until the expiration of the term under paragraph 1 this benefit shall be paid as benefit for pregnancy and birth giving./4/ When the child is given for adoption, is given to a budget funded orphanage, or dies within 42 days after the birth, the benefit under paragraph 1 shall be suspended on the following day. In these cases, if the working capacity of the mother after the birth giving is not regained, sentences two and three of paragraph 3 shall apply./5/ The woman or man insured for all insurance events who adopts a child shall be entitled to a benefit under paragraph 1 in the amount of the difference between the child’s age on the day of submission for adoption until the expiration of the benefit due for birth giving.

Benefits in Case of Death or Sickness of the Mother

Article 51. In case of death or serious sickness of the mother (adoptive mother) which impedes her from caring of the child, the person using a leave under art. 163 167 of the Labor Code shall be paid the cash benefit under art. 49.

Benefits for Pregnancy and Birth Giving in Case of Termination of the Insurance

Article 52. In the event of termination of the insurance for all social insurance events during a period when benefit for pregnancy and birth giving is received, the insured woman shall be paid a cash benefit until the expiration of the benefit for pregnancy and birth giving under art. 50.

Benefits for Care of a Small Child

Article 53. /1/ After the expiration of the benefit for pregnancy and birth giving during the additional paid leave for care of a small child, the mother (adoptive mother) shall be paid a monthly cash benefit amounting to the minimum monthly wage established for the country.

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/2/ When the additional paid leave for care of a small child is used by the father (adoptive father) instead of the mother (adoptive mother) or by the person responsible for caring of the child, a monthly cash benefit shall be paid amounting to the minimum monthly wage established for the country. This compensation shall be paid to the guardian when he uses the leave under art. 167, paragraph 2 of the Labor Code. /3/ Payment of cash benefits under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be suspended in case of death of the child, when the child is given for adoption or is sent to a budget funded orphanage.

Benefits When the Additional Paid Leave for Care of a Small Child is not Used

Article 54. /1/ In the cases when the additional paid leave for care of a small child is not used or when the person using this leave interrupts it, the mother (adoptive mother) shall be paid a cash benefit amounting to 50 per cent of the minimum monthly wage established for the country if she is insured for all insurance events including without work injury and occupational sickness. /2/ If the mother (adoptive mother) is deceased, has been deprived of parental rights or the parental rights for the child are given to the father (adoptive father), this benefit shall be paid to the father (adoptive father), and if he is also deceased - to the guardian. The benefit shall be paid if the person who has undertaken the care of the child is insured as employed under labor or official relations or at his/her account for all social insurance risks./3/ The benefit under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not be paid if the child is accepted in a budget funded orphanage.

CHAPTER FIVE

WORK INJURY AND OCCUPATIONAL SICKNESS INSURANCE

Work Injury

Article 55. /1/ Work injury shall be any sudden damage of the health which has occurred during or in relation with or because of the work done, as well as during any activity performed in the interest of the enterprise which has resulted in incapacity or death. /2/ Work injury shall also be any injury of a person insured under art. 4, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Code during the usual commute to or from the working place to:

1. the main place of residence or another additional residential location of permanent nature;2. the location where the insured person usually eats during working hours;3. the location where the compensation is received.

/3/ In cases when the insured person has deliberately damaged his/her health there shall not be work injury.

Occupational Sickness

Article 56. /1/ Occupational sickness shall be any sickness which has occurred solely or mainly under the influence of harmful factors of the working environment or the working process on the organism and is included in the List of Occupational Sicknesses issued by the Council of Ministers upon proposal by the Minister of Health./2/ Occupational sickness may also be a sickness which is not included in the List of Occupational Sicknesses when it is established that it has been caused mainly and directly by the regular employment activity of the insured person and has caused permanent incapacity or death of the insured person.

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/3/ Any aggravation and later consequences of the occupational sickness shall also be related to it.

Declaring Work Injury

Article 57. /1/ The insurer shall be obliged to declare every injury to the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute, within three days./2/ If the insurer fails to declare the injury, the injured person or his/her dependents shall be entitled, within 6 months following the injury, to declare it to the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute./3/ The manner of establishing, investigating and reporting work injuries shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers.

Work Injury Investigation

Article 58. /1/ The territorial office of the National Social Security Institute, in cooperation with the Labor Inspectorate, the committees and groups on working conditions, and other competent bodies, shall, in accordance with the type of injury, investigate any lethal work injury, any injury, which has caused damage to more than three workers, as well as any injury for which there are grounds to assume that it may lead to permanent disability./2/ The territorial office of the National Social Security Institute may, upon its discretion, also investigate other injuries, in addition to those indicated in paragraph 1./3/ The work injury investigation shall determine:

1. the causes and circumstances for occurrence of the work injury;2. the type of damages;3. other information which may help the territorial office of the National Social Security

Institute to express an opinion on the occupational nature of the injury and damage./4/ For the work injury investigation, the injured person may attend or may authorize to attend:

1. an employee or worker of the same occupation;2. a family member or a descending or ascending relative; or3. a representative of a trade union organization in which he/she is a member;4. a representative of the workers in the committees and groups on working conditions.

/5/ In case of death or when the health condition of the injured person prevents him/her from indicating a representative, the dependents of the injured person shall have the rights under paragraph 4./6/ The investigation results shall be formulated in a protocol which shall be valid until proven otherwise. A copy of the protocol shall be submitted to the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute of the affected person or to his/her dependents and to the insurer.

Filing

Article 59. /1/ A file shall be established for each work injury or occupational sickness at the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute, which shall contain the following:1. a declaration of the injury;2. a certificate of the gross wage of the person;3. copies of sick leave certificates;4. an investigation protocol, if an investigation has been carried out;5. documents related to medical and other expenses;6. the instruction for acknowledgment or non-acknowledgment of the occupational nature of the injury;

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7. the decision for acknowledgment or non-acknowledgment of the occupational sickness, issued by a Board of Occupational Sickness Experts;

8. other documents related to the injury or sickness./2/ The injured person and the insurer shall have the right to be informed about the content of the file./3/ All files shall be maintained in the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute for five years after termination of the insurance. After that they shall be submitted to the State Archive.

Categorization of the Occupational Nature of the Injury

Article 60. /1/ The official assigned by the director of the regional National Social Security Institute office, on the basis of the documents in the file, shall issue instructions for acknowledgment or non-acknowledgment of the occupational nature of the injury within seven days following the declaration./2/ The instruction shall be sent to the insured person and the insurer within seven days following its issuance./3/ The instruction shall be subject to appeal by the interested parties in accordance with art. 117.

Occupational Sickness Notification

Article 61. In case of suspicion of an occupational sickness every practicing medical doctor and dentist shall send a notification to the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute.

Preparation of Documents for Occupational Sickness

Article 62. /1/ For each written notification under article 61, the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute shall perform an investigation, prepare documents, and present them to the expert medical bodies./2/ The insurer shall prepare and present all necessary documents under paragraph 1 to the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute within thirty days following their request.

Order for Notification, Registration, and Appeal of Occupational Sicknesses

Article 63. The order for notification, registration, confirmation, appeal, and reporting of occupational sicknesses shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers.

Rates of Insurance Contributions to Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund

Article 64. /1/ The rate of the insurance contributions paid by insurers shall be calculated as a percentage of the gross monthly wage of the insured persons on the basis of actuarial projections./2/ The Law for the Public Social Security Budget shall determine the work injury and occupational sickness contribution rate, as well as the upper and lower limits within which this contribution may vary. /3/ The contribution rate may be increased or decreased by the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute in accordance with a methodology determined by an act of the Council of Ministers. /4/ The contribution rate under paragraph 3 shall be determined annually on the basis of the main activity of the enterprise, the frequency and degree of work injuries and occupational sicknesses, the number and degree of violations related to provision of healthy and safe working conditions, implementation of investment programs and work organization for provision of healthy and safe working conditions, as well as depending on the degree of occupational risk.

Activities for Prevention of Work Injury and Occupational Sickness

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Article 65. The Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund shall finance activities for prevention of work injuries and occupational sicknesses and for improvement of the working conditions, such as:1. provide assistance, consultations, and cooperation to the insurers for establishment and

implementation of an efficient system for management of labor safety and health;2. develop and participate in the development of national sector programs (strategies) in the area of

labor safety and health;3. organize training and qualification for workers in labor safety and health;4. perform and assign research in the area of labor safety and health;5. check labor safety conditions in the enterprises;6. investigate independently and together with the other competent bodies work injuries and

occupational sicknesses;7. organize campaigns, provide information to the public on labor safety and health; 8. develop and participate in the development of laws and regulations on labor safety and health;9. study and disseminate information on the positive experience in the area of safe working conditions;10. perform other activities related to the prevention of work injuries and occupational sicknesses.

Obligations of the Insurer

Article 66. The insurer shall be obliged:1. to notify within 30 days the respective territorial office of the National Social Security Institute of:

a) changes in the technology or nature of the work in the enterprise;b) liquidation of the enterprise.

2. to notify immediately the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute, the Labor Inspectorate and other competent bodies of all lethal work injuries, of all injuries which have caused damages to more than 3 workers, as well as of all injuries for which there are grounds to assume that they will cause permanent disability.

3. to present on an annual basis to the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute information on:

a) the number of workers in the enterprise;b) the amount paid for wages;c) the number and distribution of work injuries and occupational sicknesses for the previous

calendar year;d) the amount of work injury and occupational sickness benefits paid;

4. to submit a copy of the declaration for recognized work injury to the Labor Inspectorate within seven days following the receipt of the instruction under art. 60, paragraph 2;

5. to present the information under item 3, “a” and “c”, to the Labor Inspectorate on an annual basis.

Obligations of the Insured Person

Article 67. The insured person shall be obliged:1. to be aware of and to meet the requirements of the laws and regulations related to labor safety and

health, as well as the internal rules of operation of the enterprise;2. to notify immediately the insurer or his representative of any work injury or occupational sickness

with the exception of the cases when this is not possible.

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CHAPTER SIX

MANDATORY PENSION INSURANCE

Part IOld Age and Length of Service Pensions

Eligibility for Pension

Article 68. /1/ Eligibility for length of service and old age pension shall be acquired upon completion of 60 years and 6 months of age for men and 55 years and 6 months for women, provided that their sum of the years of participation in the insurance system and age is not less than 98 points for men and 88 points for women. /2/ As of December 31, 2000, the age under paragraph 1 shall be increased from the first day of each calendar year with 6 months for men and women, until 63 years for men and 60 years for women is reached, and the sum of the years of participation and age shall be increased by one until 100 points is reached for men and 90 for women. /3/ As of December 31, 2004, the sum total of length of service and age for women under paragraph 2 shall be increased by one from the first day of each consecutive year until 94 is reached./4/ In the event that the sum of years of participation and age is lower than the one required under paragraphs 1 – 3, eligibility for pension shall be acquired with 15 years of service, of which 12 years of actual service, and 65 years of age for men and women.

Eligibility for Pension of Military Officials under the Defense and Armed Forces Law and Officers and Sergeants Civil Servants – Officers, Sergeants and Civilians under the Law of the Ministry of

the Interior

Art. 69. /1/ Military officials shall be eligible for pension upon dismissal regardless of their age if they have 25 years of service of which two thirds are actually served at a permanent military service./2/ Officers and sergeants under the Ministry of the Interior, the Specialized Investigation Service, the General Department of Penitentiaries and the Main Directorate “Investigation Detention” under the Ministry of Justice and Legal Eurointegration, the Special Courier Service under the Communications Committee, magistrates and assistant magistrates, as well as persons under § 19 of the transition and final provisions of the Law for Amendment and Supplement of the Law for Implementation of Sentences (SG, issue 73 of 1998) shall, in case of dismissal, become eligible for pension with 25 years of service of which two thirds are actually served at such positions at the respective agencies, regardless of their age./2/ Civil servants – officers, sergeants and civilians under the Ministry of the Interior, the Specialized Investigation Service, the General Department of Penitentiaries and the Main Directorate “Investigation Detention” under the Ministry of Justice, the Special Courier Service under the Ministry of Transport and Communications as well as persons under § 19 of the transition and final provisions of the Law for Amendment and Supplement of the Law for Implementation of Sentences (SG, issue 73 of 1998) shall, in case of dismissal, become eligible for pension with 25 years of service of which two thirds are actually served at such positions at the respective agencies, regardless of their age.

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Amount of the Pension

Article 70. /1/ The amount of the length of service and old age pension shall be calculated as follows: the income on the basis of which the pension has been calculated, multiplied by the amount formed in the following way – one per cent for each year of participation in the system and the respective proportionate part of the percentage for the months of insurance participation./2/ The income, on the basis of which the pension is calculated, shall be determined as follows: the average monthly insured income established for the country for the previous year is multiplied by the individual coefficient of the person. /3/ The individual coefficient shall be calculated on the basis of the individual’s income on which insurance contributions are paid for three consecutive years from the last 15 years of participation in the insurance system until January 1, 1997, as chosen by the person, and for the period after that date until the moment of retirement./4/ For the purpose of calculating the individual coefficient the following shall be determined:1. the ratio between the average monthly insured income of the person for the period through December 31, 1996, and the average monthly insured income established for the country for the same period as announced by the National Social Security Institute;2. the ratio between the average monthly insured income of the person for the period after December 31, 1996, and the average monthly insured income established for the country for the same period./5/ The individual coefficient shall be determined in the following way: each ratio under paragraph 4 shall be multiplied by the number of months for which it has been established, and the sum of the results achieved in this way shall be divided by the total number of months included in the two periods./6/ If the persons have not worked after January 1, 1997, the individual coefficient shall be equal to the ratio under paragraph 4 item 1, and if the basic period is entirely after this date, the individual coefficient shall be equal to the ratio under paragraph 4 item 2./7/ The amount of the individual pension for old age and length of service may not be smaller than 115% of the social pension for old age./7/ The amount of the old age and length of participation pension under art. 68, paragraphs 1 though 3 may not be smaller than 115 per cent of the social pension for old age, whereas for persons under art. 68, paragraph 4, this amount shall not be smaller than 105 percent of the social pension for old age.

Part II

Disability Pensions

Eligibility for Pension

Article 71. Insured persons shall be eligible for disability pension when they have lost, fully or partially, their working capacity, permanently or for an extended period of time.

Determining Disability Pension

Article 72. Disability pension shall be granted to individuals who have lost 50 per cent or more of their working capacity.

Commencement and Duration of the Pension

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Article 73. /1/ The eligibility for disability pension shall start from the moment when the disability has occurred, and for individuals blind by birth and those who have become blind before the employment – as of the date of the application under art. 94. /2/ The disability pension shall be granted for the period of disability./3/ Disability pensions of persons who have completed the age under Article 68 shall be for life-time. When the re-certification of these pensioners is renewed upon their request the pension shall not be reduced or suspended.

Eligibility for Disability Pension for General Sickness

Article 74. Insured persons shall become eligible for disability pension for general sickness, if they have lost their working capacity and have the following length of service prior to the occurrence of the disability, whereas individuals blind by birth and those who have become blind before the employment shall become eligible as of the date of application under art. 94:1.up to 20 years of age and for individuals blind by birth and individuals who have lost their vision

prior to employment – regardless of their length of participation;2.up to 25 years of age – one year of participation;3.up to 30 years of age – three years of participation;4.up to 40 years of age – seven years of participation over 30 years of age – 5 years;

over 40 years of age - ten years of participation.

Determining Disability Pension for General Sickness

Article 75. /1/ Disability pension for general sickness shall be calculated in the following way: the income on the basis of which the pension is calculated multiplied by a coefficient equal to one for each year of actual insurance participation./2/ When the person’s age is smaller than the age determined under art. 68 on the date of disablement, the difference between his/her actual age and that age under art. 68 shall be recognized as participation. When determining the disability pension the years recognized as participation shall be multiplied by a percentage, as follows:1. for persons who have lost over 90 per cent of their working capacity – 0.9;2. for persons who have lost between 71 and 90 per cent of their working capacity – 0.7;3. for persons who have lost between 50 and 70 per cent of their working capacity – 0.5./3/ In the cases under paragraph 2 the income, on the basis of which the pension is calculated, shall be multiplied by the average weighted sum of the coefficients under paragraphs 1 and 2./4/ The amount of disability pension for general sickness may not be smaller than:1. for persons who have lost over 90 per cent of their working capacity – 140 per cent of the social

pension for old age;2. for persons who have lost between 71 and 90 per cent of their working capacity – 130 per cent of the

social pension for old age;3. for persons who have lost between 50 and 70 per cent of their working capacity – 105 per cent of the

social pension for old age.

Income for Calculation of Disability Pension for General Sickness

Article 76. The income, used to calculate the amount of the disability pension for general sickness, shall be determined in the following way: the average monthly insured income established for the country for the previous year, multiplied by the individual coefficient of the person.

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Individual Coefficient

Article 77. /1/ The individual coefficient for calculation of disability pension for general sickness shall be determined in accordance with art. 70, paragraphs 3 - 6 through the date of disability, and for individuals blind by birth and those who have become blind before the employment – through the date of the application under art. 94.

Disability Pension for Work Injury and Occupational Sickness

Article 78. Insured persons who have lost 50 per cent, or more, of their working capacity due to a work injury or an occupational sickness, shall be eligible for a disability pension for work injury or occupational sickness, regardless of their length of participation.

Amount of Disability Pension for Work Injury and Occupational Sickness

Article 79. /1/ The personal disability pension for work injury or occupational sickness shall be calculated in the following way: the monthly insured income established for the country shall be multiplied by the individual coefficient as calculated under art. 70, paragraphs 3 - 6 through the date of disability and by the following coefficients:1. for persons who have lost over 90 per cent of their working capacity – 0.4;2. for persons who have lost between 71 and 90 per cent of their working capacity – 0.35;3. for persons who have lost between 50 and 70 per cent of their working capacity – 0.30./2/ The amount of disability pension for work injury or occupational sickness may not be smaller than:1. for persons who have lost over 90 per cent of their working capacity – 150 per cent of the social

pension for old age;2. for persons who have lost between 71 and 90 per cent of their working capacity – 140 per cent of the

social pension for old age;3. for persons who have lost between 50 and 70 per cent of their working capacity – 115 per cent of the

social pension for old age./3/ The amount of disability pension due to work injury and occupational sickness may not be smaller than the amount calculated as disability pension for general sickness.

Part IIISurvivor Pensions

Eligibility for Survivor Pension

Article 80. /1/ Individual pensions may be transformed into survivor pensions with the exception of pensions under art. art. 87, 89, 90, 91, and 92./2/ The surviving spouse and children shall be entitled to survivor pensions, as well as parents if they do not receive a individual pension./3/ Giving up one’s rights of inheritance shall not deprive the dependents of a survivor pension./4/ Receiving a survivor pension shall not be treated as receiving an inheritance.

Determining the Survivor Pension

Article 81. /1/ The survivor pension shall be established as a percentage of the individual pension of the deceased insured person as follows:

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1. in case of one survivor - 50 per cent;2. in case of two survivors - 75 per cent;3. in case of three and more survivors - 100 per cent.

/2/ Survivor pension shall be granted to all eligible persons and shall be divided equally among them. The minimum amount of the survivor pension may not be smaller than 90 per cent of the social pension./3/ In case of death of both parents (adoptive parents) the children shall be entitled to receive a survivor pension which shall be determined from the sum of the pensions of the deceased.

Conditions for Eligibility and Granting of Survivor Pension

Article 82. /1/ Children shall be entitled to receive survivor pensions until completion of 18 years of age, and above this age – if they are students, for the whole period of their studies, and for the time of the military draft but not later than their 26th year of age, as well as above that age in case they became disabled before the age of 18, 26 years of age, respectively. /2/ The surviving spouse shall be entitled to receive a survivor pension 5 years earlier than the age under art. 68 or before that age if he/she is incapacitated.(3) Parents shall be entitled to receive a survivor pension after reaching the age under paragraph 68.(4) Parents of persons who have died during completion of their military service shall be entitled to survivor pension regardless of their age.

Types of Survivor Pensions

Article 83. /1/ In case of death of the insured person, the survivors shall be granted a pension in accordance with the type of the individual pension for general sickness or for work injury or occupational sickness that the deceased person would have received as a disabled person with lost working capacity over 90 per cent./2/ When the deceased has become eligible for old age and length of service pension, the survivors shall receive a survivor pension calculated on the basis of the old age and length of service pension, if that is more favorable for them./3/ In case of death of a pensioner who has been receiving an individual disability pension, the amount of the survivor pension shall be determined on the basis of his personal pension as a disabled person with lost working capacity over 90 per cent./4/ In case of death of a military draft soldier his dependents shall be eligible for pension whose basis shall be the amount under art. 86, paragraph 1, equal to the pension due for military disability with lost working capacity over 90 per cent./5/ In case of death of a pensioner the amount of the pension of the dependents shall be determined on the basis of the pension due for military disability with working capacity reduced over 90 per cent, determined under art. 86.

Supplement from the Pension of a Deceased Spouse

Article 84. Pensioners shall be entitled to a supplement in the amount of 20 per cent of the pension of the deceased spouse. This supplement may not be received together with a survivor pension from the same person.

Part IV

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Pensions Not Related to Employment

Military Disability Pension

Article 85. /1/ Military disability pension shall be granted to persons who have lost their working capacity due to a sickness or injury during or in relation with:1. military draft service;2. reserve troops or reserve service./2/ Individuals who have been injured while providing assistance to the armed forces shall also be eligible for military disability pension./3/ “Injured” under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall also be deceased and missing persons.

Amount of Military Disability Pension

Article 86. /1/ The amount of the military disability pension shall be determined as a percentage of the social pension for old age using the table below:

Reduced working capacityover 90 per cent 71-90 per cent 50-70 per cent

Privates and sergeants

150 per cent 140 per cent 115 per cent

Officers 160 per cent 150 per cent 120 per cent

/2/ When the persons under art. 85 have been insured for all social risks or only for work injury or occupational sickness prior to their recruitment or reserve troops service, the amount of the military disability pension shall be determined in the manner for determining pension for work injury or occupational sickness, if this is more favorable for them.

Civil Disability Pension

Article 87. Eligibility for civil disability pension shall be acknowledged for persons who have lost their working capacity due to injury or sickness in the following cases:1. while performing their civil duties;2. by accident, caused by the authorities when performing their civil duties.

Amount of Civil Disability Pension

Article 88. /1/ The amount of civil disability pension shall be determined as a percentage of the social pension for old age as follows:1. for persons who have lost over 90 per cent of their working capacity – 150 per cent;2. for persons who have lost between 71 and 90 per cent of their working capacity – 140 per cent;3. for persons who have lost between 50 and 70 per cent of their working capacity – 115 per cent./2/ The pension of persons who have been insured for all social risks or only for work injury or occupational sickness shall be calculated in the manner determined for work injury or occupational sickness pensions if this is more favorable for them.

Social Pension for Old Age

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Article 89. /1/ Eligibility for social pension shall be acknowledged for persons who have completed 70 years of age and whose annual income per family member is smaller than the sum of the guaranteed minimum income established for the country for the last 12 months prior to the request for pension. /2/ The amount of the social pension for old age, as well as the terms and conditions for its granting, shall be determined by the Council of Ministers upon proposal by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the National Social Security Institute.

Disability Social Pension

Article 90. /1/ Individuals who have completed 16 years of age and whose working capacity is reduced by more than 71 per cent shall be eligible for disability social pension. /2/ The amount of the social disability pension for persons with lost working capacity over 90 per cent shall be 120 per cent, and for persons who have lost 71 - 90 per cent of their working capacity – 110 per cent of the social pension for old age.

Special Merits Pension

Article 91. Individual pensions for special service to the state and the nation shall be granted by the Parliament upon proposal by the Council of Ministers.

Individual Pensions

Article 92. The Council of Ministers may, in the manner determined by it, grant pensions under special circumstances, to persons who do not meet certain requirements of this code.

Funds for Payment of Pensions not Related to Employment

Article 93. The funds for payment of pensions which are not related to employment shall be at the account of the republican budget.

Part VGeneral Provisions on Pensions

Date of Granting of Pension

Article 94. The pension shall be granted as of the date of eligibility for pension if the application with all required documents has been filed in the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute within 6 months after that date. If the documents have been filed after that period the pension shall be granted as of the date of filing.

Suspension of the Pension

Article 95. The pension shall be suspended:1. upon request of the pensioner;2. when the pensioner fails to appear for re-certification by the medical and social bodies after he/she

has received an official invitation;3. when the pensioner has not received his/her pension more than six months;4. when payment is not due in accordance with art. 101.

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Termination of the Pension

Article 96. /1/ The payment of pension shall be ceased when:1. the pensioner dies;2. the children reach the age when they are no longer eligible for survivor pension or are adopted;3. the surviving spouse who receives the survivor pension marries;4. the grounds for its granting no longer exist./2/ In the cases under paragraph 1, item 1, the pension shall be stopped as of the end of the month in which the pensioner died, and under items 2 - 4 - as of the date on which the event has occurred.

Renewal and Reinstatement of the Pension

Article 97. /1/ Payment of stopped pension shall be renewed and suspended eligibility shall be granted again upon written request by the pensioner when the reason for the suspension or termination no longer exists./2/ The payment of pension shall be renewed or granted again as of the day on which the respective reasons no longer exist, provided that the request is filed within three years following this date, or as of the date of its filing when the deadline has been missed./3/ Pensions interrupted under art. 95, item 2 shall be renewed as of the date of its interruption if it is established that the pensioner has failed to appear for re-certification due to good reasons.

Order for Granting and Alteration of the Pension

Article 98. /1/ Pensions and supplements to them shall be granted, amended, updated, stopped, renewed, interrupted, and re-granted by instruction of the respective official in charge of the management of pension insurance at the territorial National Social Security Institute office. Pensions under an international agreement shall be granted, amended, updated, stopped, renewed, interrupted, and re-granted by instruction of the director of the National Social Security Institute or another official authorized by him . the official assigned with the management of the activity related to granting and payment of pensions in accordance with international agreements in the NSSI/2/ The official under paragraph 1 shall also issue instructions for renewal of incorrectly paid amounts for pension. Amounts due under these instructions shall be collected from the individual’s pension. In case the pension has been suspended these amounts shall be collected in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Tax Proceedings Code. These instructions shall be subject to appeal under art. 117./3/ Obvious factual errors in the instructions under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be corrected by the body which has issued them. The correction shall come into effect as of the day of granting, amending, updating, revocation, renewal, interruption, and re-granting of the pension.

Amendment or Cancellation of the Instruction

Article 99. /1/ The instruction under art. 98 may be amended or repealed by the body which issued it when:1. the pensioner provides new evidence of acquired length of service, insured income, civil status, etc.;2. the pension is granted on the basis of false of forged documents or documents with false content;3. the disability for which the pension is granted has been caused by the person deliberately or has

occurred as a result of a premeditated crime committed by him/her;4. the death of the person receiving the pension has been caused deliberately by the survivor or is a

result of a crime committed by him/her;

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5. the pension has been granted incorrectly or its granting has been denied incorrectly;6. the amount of the pension is incorrectly determined as lower or higher./2/ In the cases under paragraph 1 the instruction shall be amended or repealed:1. under item 1 – as of the date of submission of evidence;2. under items 2 – 6 – as of the date of granting or change in the pension, in case of incorrect denial – as

of the date under art. 94.

Indexation of Pensions

Article 100. /1/ Pensions shall be updated as of July 1, 2001, every year, by decision of the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute depending on the growth of the insured income established for the country for the previous year and the consumer price index for the previous calendar year./2/ Pensions granted under art. 12 and under Part V of the repealed Pensions Law, as well as under the repealed Law for Retirement of Farmers – Cooperative Members and the Social Security Law of 1949, and pensions granted by the Presidium of the Parliament and by the State Council of People’s Republic of Bulgaria which have not been calculated on the basis of labor compensation, shall be updated annually by a coefficient equal to 80 per cent of the average increase of pensions under paragraph 1.

Receiving More than One Pension

Article 101. /1/ The following pensions may not be received simultaneously:1. individual pension for old age and length of service with survivor pension for old age and length of

service;2. individual or survivor pension for old age and length of service with individual or survivor general

sickness disability pension;3. individual general sickness disability pension with survivor general sickness disability pension;4. social pension, individual pension and special merit pension with another type of pension./2/ When the person is entitled to more than one individual disability pension for different sicknesses the highest pension shall be granted./3/ When a person is eligible for more than one pension, one of the pensions, by choice, shall be received in full, and the other pensions shall be paid in the amount of 50 per cent. When one of the pensions in this case is social, 25% of its amount shall be paid./4/ Individuals with military disability shall receive the full amount of the two pensions - military disability pension and old age and length of service pension, upon completion of the age under art. 68./5/ When a survivor pension is granted to dependents of a person with military disability who has received or has been eligible for the full amount of the two pensions under paragraph 4, the basis shall be the full amount of the two pensions./6/ Parents of persons deceased during their military service shall receive the full amount of their individual pension as well as the pension granted under art. 82, paragraph 4.

Recalculation of the Pension

Article 102. Persons who have been granted old age and length of service pension or work injury, occupational or general sickness disability pension, may request recalculation of their pension for length of service acquired after retirement. Recalculation of pensions shall be done in accordance with art. 70, or art. 75-77, respectively, if this is more favorable for the person.Art. 102. /1/ Persons who have been granted old age and length of service pension or work injury, occupational or general sickness disability pension, may request granting of a new pension for length

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of service and insured income acquired after retirement if this is more favorable for them. Recalculation of pensions shall be done in accordance with art. 70, or art. 75-77, respectively, for length of participation acquired after retirement./2/ Individuals under para 1 may request recalculation of their length of participation pension after retirement in accordance with art. 70, para 1 and art. 75, para 1

Allowance for Support by Another Individual

Article 103. Pensioners with lost working capacity over 90 per cent who permanently need assistance shall receive a supplement to their pension amounting to 75% of the social pension for old age.

Labor Categories

Article 104. /1/ The Council of Ministers shall determine which type of labor belongs to which category in accordance with the nature and specific working conditions./2/ Upon retirement, the length of participation shall be transformed by recognizing three years under category I or four years under category II as five years under category III./3/ For workers in the sphere of radioactive, silicone and manganese production substances, determined by an act of the Council of Ministers, one year of service under labor category I shall be recognized as three years under category III./3/ For workers, engineers and technical experts as well as managers, including heads of department, working under gorund in mines, sites for geologic research and hydrotechincal sites, underground tunnel and mine construction one year of service under labor category I shall be recognized as three years under labor category III./4/ The length of service of individuals under art. 69 shall be transformed by recognizing three years of actual service as five years of service under labor category III./5/ The length of service of individuals under art. 69 who are members of the air staff of the jet aviation, crews of submarine vessels and divers, shall be transformed by recognizing one year of actual service as three years of service under labor category III./6/ The length of service of individuals under art. 69 who are members of the propeller motor aviation, paratroopers, border area officials and ship crews shall be transformed by recognizing one year of actual service as two years of service under labor category III./7/ The length of service of individuals under art. 69 who are directly involved in the military actions, during war time, one year of service shall be recognized as three years of participation under labor category III.

Prescription

Article 105. /1/ Eligibility for pension shall not be denied by prescription./2/ The pension shall not be paid off with the expiration of a three year period as of the date of eligibility.

Regulations

Article 106. The Council of Ministers shall issue regulations for the application of this Chapter and for payment of pensions.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

CONTROL

Controlling Bodies

Article 107. The control of compliance with the legal provisions related to social insurance, as well as to payment of contributions for health insurance, for the Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and for supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be performed by the controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute.

Rights of the Controlling Bodies

Article 108. /1/ The controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute, when performing their official duties, shall have the right:1. to inspect all individuals and legal entities for their activity related to public social insurance, as well

as for payment of health insurance contributions, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund contributions and supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions. For the purposes of their inspections they shall have the right to free access to all office premises and sites;

2. to take measures for indicting persons who have violated social insurance laws and regulations and provisions for payment of health insurance contributions, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions;

3. to issue mandatory instructions for compliance with the legal provisions on public social insurance and payment of health insurance contributions, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions;

4. to demand from sole traders and legal entities and their branches a declaration of their bank accounts in the country, as well as to provide documents related to their economic activity;

5. to perform cross-references and to appoint experts./2/ Individuals and legal entities shall be obliged to present to the controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute, all documents, data, references, declarations, explanations, and other information carriers, as requested from them, in relation to the performance of public social insurance and payment of health insurance contributions, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions and to assist them in the performance of their official duties./3/ The controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute shall be obliged to have accident insurance at the account of the public social insurance budget./4/ The Director of the National Social Security Institute and the directors of its offices may issue mandatory instructions for interruption of the implementation of instructions and actions which are in contradiction with the public social insurance laws and regulations, as well as of the health insurance legislation and unemployment insurance with respect to collection of contributions and control.

Prohibition of Other Activities

Article 109. /1/ The members of the controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute may not have additional employment related to their official duties, under labor or civil contracts with another employer. Nor shall they be allowed to perform activity related to their official duties as sole traders, partners in commercial and other partnerships, cooperatives and other organizations.

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/2/ Following the termination of their employment relations, National Social Security Institute officials shall keep the confidentiality and shall and not use for purposes other than performing their duties at work, all information related to the insured persons and the insurers, which came to their knowledge while performing their duties. This information and circumstances may be submitted to the judiciary power bodies or other state bodies under the terms and conditions set by the director of the National Social Security Institute in accordance with the provisions of the effective legislation.

Audit Acts for Deficiencies

Article 110. /1/ The controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute shall draw up audit acts for deficiencies to individuals and legal entities:1. for all damages caused by them to the public social insurance by unpaid insurance contributions,

incorrect insurance expenditures, and retirement documents with incorrect content, etc.;2. for unpaid health insurance contributions;3. for unpaid contributions to the Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund;4. for unpaid supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions./2/ The responsible persons may appeal the audit acts for deficiencies within seven days following their submission. The controlling body of the National Social Security Institute shall express an opinion on the appeal by a motivated statement./3/ For collection of amounts under the audit acts for deficiencies the official assigned with the management of the control of income and expenditures of the public social insurance in the respective division of the National Social Security Institute shall issue instructions. These instructions shall be subject to implementation within 14 days following their submission./4/ The instructions and the acts for deficiency shall be handed personally to the accountable persons, which shall be certified by his/her signature or mailed to them with advice of delivery./5/ The amounts under the effective instructions which have not been paid on a voluntary basis shall be collected through:1. lien on the bank accounts of the persons liable to the public social insurance, health insurance, the

Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and supplementary mandatory pension insurance;

2. enforcement on movable and real estate owned by the liable persons./6/ Lien on accounts of liable persons to the public social insurance shall be imposed by sending a lien notification by the director of the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute to the banks which shall make immediate transfers to the public social insurance account. The lien imposed on the debtor’s account shall apply to all branches of the bank. The lien shall be deemed effective as of the time on the respective date when the lien notification is received by the bank. In case in the debtor’s account there are not enough funds, the bank shall notify the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute within seven days of the reasons for which the lien has not been enforced. /7/ The body, which with notification of the bank has imposed lien on the account, may allow for a certain part of the amounts deposited to the account of the debtor to be temporarily left at its disposal for the urgent payments related to the operations of the liable entity in case the latter provides other collateral. /7//8/ Receivables of the public social insurance shall be paid off in the following order: expenditures, interest, principal. Cession of receivables of the public social insurance shall be prohibited. Receivables of the public social insurance shall be paid off in the following order: expenditures, interest, principal. Cession of receivables of the public social insurance shall be prohibited.

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/98/ Collection of receivables through enforcement on movable or real estate of the liable person, as well as receivables from third persons, shall be performed in accordance with the Tax Proceedings Code. The claim to the public executor shall be filed by the director of the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute; this claim shall determine the type of security measures on movable and real estate, as well as the manner of selling./109/ Ten per cent of the amounts collected under acts for deficiencies due to unpaid public social insurance contributions, health insurance contributions, and Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund contributions, damages caused by incorrect expenditures and interest due on them, shall be collected as revenue to the public social insurance budget. The money collected in this way shall only be used for qualification and material stimulation of employees in the manner determined by the director of the National Social Security Institute./1011/ Funds collected for health insurance, for Professional Qualification Fund and for supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be transferred from the respective division of the National Social Security Institute to an account of the National Health Insurance Fund, the Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund, and the supplementary mandatory pension funds.

Property Sanctions on Banks

Article 111. /1/ For every withdrawal of money for wages, including advance payments, payment documents shall be deposited with the banks for insurance contributions paid to and statements for the public social Insurance, to the National Health Insurance Fund and the Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and for supplementary mandatory pension insurance./2/ Banks which have permitted withdrawal of money for wages, including advance payments and compensations, without having paid all insurance contributions duewithout having submitted a statement under art. 6, paragraph 11, shall be penalized in the amount of the unpaid insurance contributions regardless of the administrative penal responsibility of the guilty officials./3/ Property sanctions under paragraph 2 shall be imposed by the director of the National Social Security Institute or by officials authorized by him in accordance with the Administrative Violations and Penalties Law.

Data Entry Obligations

Article 112. The documents for withdrawal of benefits and for payment of public social insurance, health insurance, Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions shall contain the BULSTAT identifier of the insurers or self insured persons, and the common civic number for individuals who are not subject to entry in the BULSTAT register.

Interest on Receivables of the National Social Security Institute

Article 113. Interest determined by law for state receivables shall be charged for all receivables of the National Social Security Institute from unpaid public social insurance contributions and for incorrect insurance expenditures.

Reimbursement of Incorrectly Received Amounts

Article 114. /1/ Unconscientioulsy received insurance benefits shall be paid back by the individuals who have received them together with the interest determined by law.

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/2/ Conscientiously received amounts for insurance payments shall not be subject to back payment. unless they have been paid due to a technical error. In this case they shall be paid back without any interest./3/ Disputes related to unconscientiousness shall be settled pursuant to the provisions of Chapter Eight.

Prescription

Article 115. /1/ Receivables of the National Social Insurance Institute from unpaid insurance contributions, incorrect insurance payments, higher pensions due to incorrect calculations and the interests on them shall be suspended by prescription with the expiring of a five-year period. All receivables shall be suspended with the expiration of a ten-year period regardless of the termination of the prescription. /2/ Prescription shall be terminated:

1. upon enactment of the instruction for determining the receivables;2. upon enforcement of security measures;3. upon initiation of enforcement.

/3/ Upon termination of the prescription a new period of prescription shall be initiated./4/ Public social insurance receivables due may be claimed at the latest within three years following the date on which they have become payable.

Deferral of Liabilities

Article 116. The director of the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute may defer payments by insurers in exceptional cases during periods of financial difficulties, liabilities of insurers or self insured persons amounting to up to 10,000 leva for a period of one year.

CHAPTER EIGHTDISPUTES

Appeals

Article 117. /1/ Appeals may be filed to the director of the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute against:1. denial or incorrect determination of cash benefits, assistance, and other insurance payments,

allowances and compensations to them;2. instructions:

a) for denial or incorrect determination or amendment of pensions, allowances and compensations on them;

b) for collection of amounts under audit acts for deficiencies;c) for acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement of the occupational nature of an injury;d) for reimbursement of incorrectly received benefits from the public social insurance;e) for denial of reimbursement of incorrect payments.

/2/ The instructions for under item 2, b - e, may be appealed within 14 days, and the instruction for pensions within three months following their receipt./3/ The director of the territorial office shall express an opinion on the appeals or claims by a motivated decision within one month following their receipt. By this decision the director of the territorial office

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may repeal the instructions and may decide on the appeals and claims. The affected parties shall be informed of the decision within seven days following its issuance./4/ Instructions for pensions granted under international agreements may be appealed before the NSSI director within three months following their receipt. The decision shall be issued within the terms and in the manner determined under paragraph 3./5 4/ All decisions and notifications related to the review of appeals and claims shall be drawn up in accordance with the Administrative Proceedings Law.(5 6) Instructions shall come into effect in the part which has not been appealed and shall be subject to implementation.

Appeals of the Director’s Decision

Article 118. /1/ The decision of the director of the territorial office may be appealed before the regional court within 14 days following its receipt. The appeal shall be filed through the director of the territorial office who shall be obliged to submit it together with the correspondence to the court within seven days./2/ The court shall review and rule on these cases in accordance with the Administrative Proceedings Law.

Cassation Appeal

Article 119. All decisions of the regional court shall be subject to cassation appeal in accordance with the Supreme Administrative Court Law.

State Fee Waiver

Article 120. /1/ For court proceedings under this Chapter insured persons and pensioners shall not pay any state fees./2/ If the appeal is taken into consideration, the appealing party shall be entitled to receive all expenses incurred by him and the defense compensation in proportion with the approved amount.

PART II

SUPPLEMENTARY MANDATORY PENSION INSURANCE

CHAPTER NINEGENERAL PROVISIONS

Subject

Article 121. This Part shall regulate the social relations connected with:1. supplementary mandatory pension insurance;2. establishment, management, and termination of supplementary mandatory pension insurance

funds;3. state insurance supervision over supplementary mandatory pension insurance activities;4. guaranteeing the interests of the insured persons.

Purpose

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Article 122. The purpose of supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be to provide income by means of providing a supplementary pension as well as of early retirement of individuals working under labor category I and II conditions.

Definition

Article 123. Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be an activity of collecting mandatory pension insurance contributions, management of the assets of universal and occupational pension funds and payment of supplementary mandatory pensions and early retirement pensions in case of occurrence of insurance events as defined under this Part.

Performance

Article 124. Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be performed under the terms and conditions of this Part, on the basis of a contract of the insured person with a licensed pension insurance company for participation in supplementary mandatory pension insurance funds.

Principles

Article 125. /1/ Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be performed in observance of the following principles:1. mandatory participation,2. legal independence of the pension insurance company from the universal and occupational pension

funds,3. transparency, separateness and exclusiveness of the activity;4. licensing regime and government regulation;5. mandatory periodic reporting and disclosure;6. fair competition among the pension insurance companies;7. representation of the interests of the insured persons./2/ Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be performed through pension schemes on a fully-funded principle on the basis of defined contributions.

Management of Pension Fund Assets

Article 126. The assets of the pension fund shall be managed with the care of a prudent person in observance of the principles of reliability, liquidity, profitability and diversification in the best interest of insured persons

Insured Persons

Article 127. /1/ Every individual born after January 1, 1960 after December 31, 1959, shall be obliged to be insured with a universal pension fund provided that he or she is insured under the terms and conditions of Part I./2/ Persons working under the conditions of labor categories I and II shall also be insured with an occupational pension fund for early retirement pension regardless of their age./3/ The individual coefficient under art. 70 of persons under paragraph 1 shall be decreased on the basis of the ratio between the insurance contribution rates for the universal pension fund and the Pension Fund in the order determined by a decree of the Council of Ministers.

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Individuality of the Insurance

Article 128. Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be individual. Each person insured with an occupational and universal pension fund shall have an individual insurance number and an individual insurance account.

Individual Account

Article 129. /1/ Supplementary mandatory pension contributions shall be accrued in the individual account of each insured person./2/ The earnings obtained from investment of the universal and occupational pension fund assets shall be allocated to the individual accounts in proportion with their share in the total fund assets./3/ The accrued funds of the insured persons shall be capitalized in their own individual accounts. No redistribution of funds shall be allowed between the individual accounts./4/ The funds accrued in the individual accounts of the insured persons shall not be subject to lien or enforcement.

Insured Social Risks

Article 130. Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall cover the insurance event of old age and death.

Amount of the Pension

Article 131. Pensions shall be determined on the basis of the amount accrued in the individual account from the contributions made and from the return on their investment as reduced by the fees and deductions under this Part, as well as depending on the life expectancy after retirement in accordance with the approved biometric tables.

Government Regulation and Control

Article 132. The government shall exercise effective regulation and control of the activity of the universal and occupational pension funds and the pension insurance companies in order to protect the interests of the insured persons.

CHAPTER TEN

PENSION FUNDS AND PENSION INSURANCE COMPANIES

Establishment, Management, and Representation of Pension Funds

Article 133. /1/ Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be performed through participation in universal and/or occupational pension funds which shall be established and managed by pension insurance companies licensed under the Supplementary Voluntary Pension Insurance Law./2/ In their relations with third parties, occupational and universal pension funds shall be represented only by licensed pension insurance companies. /3/ Pension insurance companies and universal and occupational pension funds shall be separate legal entities.

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/4/ Pension insurance companies may establish only one universal and one occupational fund./5/ Universal and occupational pension funds shall be established for an unlimited period of time.

Responsibility of Pension Insurance Companies

Article 134. /1/ Pension insurance companies shall have financial responsibility to the insured persons for losses incurred as a result of unconscientious performance of their obligations in terms of management and representation of the respective pension funds. In case of insolvency the assets of the pension insurance companies shall not include the amounts in the account under art. 139, paragraph 2 and the pension reserve under art. 192, paragraph 2./2/ Pension funds shall not be responsible with their assets for any losses resulting from actions of the pension insurance companies which have established them, nor for losses from the activity of the pension insurance company which manages and represents the fund.

Name of the Pension Fund

Article 135. /1/ The name of the pension fund shall contain in some combination the words “pension”, “occupational” or “universal and "fund" or their derivatives, as well as an instruction of its type./2/ Only a fund registered in compliance with this law may use in its name, when describing its activity or when advertising, in some combination the words “pension”, “occupational” or “universal and "fund" or their derivatives.

Prohibition of Acquisition By Prescription

Article 136. Assets of a universal and/or occupational fund may not be acquired by prescription.

Universal Pension Fund

Article 137. /1/ A universal pension fund shall be established by a licensed pension insurance company by decision of its managing bodies./2/ A licensed pension insurance company may establish only one universal pension fund./3/ Insured persons may participate in a universal pension fund through an individual application filed to the pension insurance company within three months following the occurrence of obligation for insurance./4/ Individuals who have not chosen a universal pension fund in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be assigned one of the registered universal funds in the manner determined by the National Social Security Institute and the State Insurance Supervision Agency./5/ Participation in a universal pension fund may only be changed individually by the insured person one year after the beginning of the membership in the fund.

Minimum Number of Participants in a Universal Pension Fund

Article 138. /1/ The number of persons insured in a universal pension fund may not be smaller than 30,000./2/ The requirement under paragraph 1 shall not apply for the first two years after court entry./3/ Persons working under labor category III through September 30, 2001, as well as persons who have become eligible for supplementary pension insurance after that date, shall choose a universal pension fund independently.

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Rights Gained from Insurance in Universal Pension Funds

Article 139. Insurance in a universal pension fund shall give the right to:1. supplementary life-long pension for old age after the person becomes eligible for old age and length

of service pension under Part I;2. lump sum or limited period payment of accrued amounts in case of a decision of a territorial board of

health experts for permanent disability;3. lump sum or limited period payment of accrued amounts to the dependents of a deceased member or

pensioner of the fund under the terms and conditions of this part./2/ Payments under paragraph 1 shall be made by the pension insurance company from a separate account to which the amounts accrued in the individual account of the insured person shall be transferred in case of occurrence of the insurance event.

Occupational Pension Fund

Article 140. /1/ An occupational pension fund shall be established by a licensed pension insurance company by decision of its managing bodies./2/ A licensed pension insurance company may establish only one occupational pension fund./3/ Insured persons may participate in an occupational pension fund through an individual application filed to the pension insurance company within three months following the occurrence of obligation for insurance./4/ Individuals who have not chosen an occupational pension fund in accordance with paragraph 3 shall be assigned one of the registered occupational funds in the manner determined by the National Social Security Institute and the State Insurance Supervision Agency./5/ Participation in an occupational pension fund may only be changed individually by the insured person one year after the beginning of the membership in the fund.

Participants in an Occupational Pension Fund

Article 141. /1/ The number of persons insured with an occupational pension fund may not be smaller than 15,000./2/ The requirement under paragraph 1 shall not apply for the first two years after court entry.

Rights Gained from Insurance in Occupational Pension Funds

Article 142. Insurance with an occupational pension fund shall give the right to:1. limited period occupational pension for early retirement for labor category I and II workers in

accordance with the labor category;2. lump sum or limited period payment of the amount accrued in the individual account upon decision

of the territorial board of health experts for reduced working capacity;3. lump sum or limited period payment of the amount accrued in the individual account to the

dependents of a deceased member or pensioner of the fund under the terms and conditions of this part.

/2/ Payments under paragraph 1 shall be made by the pension insurance company from a separate account to which the amounts accrued in the individual account of the insured person shall be transferred in case of occurrence of the insurance event.

Rules of Organization and Operation of a Supplementary Mandatory Pension Insurance Fund

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Article 143. /1/ The Rules of Operation and Organization of a supplementary mandatory pension insurance fund shall be adopted by the General Meeting of the shareholders of the pension insurance company./2/ The Rules of Operation and Organization of the pension fund shall contain:1. the name of the fund;2. the name, head office, and management address of the managing pension insurance company;3. the terms and conditions for supplementary mandatory pension insurance differentiated for universal

and occupational pension funds;4. the terms and procedures for conclusion of insurance contracts and the rules to amend and

supplement them, as well as the conditions for termination;5. the terms and conditions for maintenance of pension accounts and for preparation of account value

reports for the insured persons;6. the period and the way to allocate investment return;7. the amount of fees and deductions collected by the pension insurance company;8. the procedures, terms and conditions of supplementary pension payment and of lump sums and

limited period payments;9. the order, terms and conditions for transfer of the amounts accrued in the individual account;10. the order and conditions for making amendments and supplements to the Rules;11. explicit indication of the order and manner of making announcements related to the activity of

the pension fund;12. the methodology and periodicity for evaluation of the fund assets;13. the rights and obligations of the pension insurance company, the insured person, employers and

other insurers.

Amendment and Supplement to the Rules of a Supplementary Mandatory Pension Fund

Article 144. /1/ Amendments and supplements to the Rules of Operation under art. 143, paragraph 2, shall be approved by the State Insurance Supervision Agency. The Agency shall make a decision within one month period as of the receipt of the application. The applicant shall be notified about the decision in writing within a seven-day period.(2) The insured persons shall be notified of the amendments and supplements to the Rules of Operation and Organization of the pension fund under the terms and conditions provided in art. 143, paragraph 2, item 11.

Permission of Court Entry of a Pension Fund

Article 145. In order to obtain permission for court entry of an occupational and a universal pension fund the pension insurance company shall file a written application to the State Insurance Supervision Agency accompanied by the following attachments:1. the Rules of Operation and Organization of the occupational and universal pension fund;2. a copy of the contract with the depository bank under art. 183;3. a certificate of the actual legal status of the pension insurance company

Terms for Reviewing the Application for Permission of Court Entry

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Article 146. /1/ The State Insurance Supervision Agency shall review and express an opinion on the application for permission of court entry of a universal and occupational pension fund within one month following the submission of all documents under art. 145./2/ The State Insurance Supervision Agency shall notify in writing the applicant of its decision within seven days following its issuance./3/ The State Insurance Supervision Agency may not deny permission of court entry of a universal and occupational pension fund if all requirements of this code are met.

Denial of Permission of Court Entry

Article 147. The State Insurance Supervision Agency shall deny permission of court entry of a universal and/or occupational pension fund when any of the documents under art. 145 is missing or when they are not regular.

Court Entry

Article 148. /1/ After receiving permission under art. 146, paragraph 2, the pension insurance company shall file an application for entry of the fund by the respective regional court./2/ The supplementary mandatory pension fund shall be deemed established as of the day of entry in the court register.

Validity of Permission

Article 149. The permission given by the State Insurance Supervision Agency for registration of a universal and/or occupational pension fund shall be invalid if within two months following the date of issue the pension insurance company fails to file an application for court entry of the fund.

Documents Required for Entry

Article 150. /1/ The following documents shall be presented for the purposes of court entry of the occupational and/or universal fund:1. a written consent of the State Insurance Supervision Agency for entry of a universal and/or

occupational pension fund ;2. the Rules of Operation and Organization of the universal and/or occupational pension fund;3. the statute of the pension insurance company managing and representing the pension fund;4. a certificate of actual legal status of the pension insurance company;5. a list of all members of the managing bodies of the pension insurance company and of the Board of

Trustees of the pension fund;6. the pension license of the pension insurance company ;7. the decision of the managing body of the licensed pension insurance company for establishment of a

universal and/or occupational fund;8. full name and ID number of all persons managing and representing the pension insurance company./2/ The following shall be entered in the register: the name of the universal and/or occupational pension fund, the name, head office, and management address of the pension insurance company which has established the fund, the manner of representation of the pension insurance company.

Term for Court Ruling

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Article 151. The court shall review the application for entry within 14 days after the date of submission.

Entry Denial

Article 152. The court shall deny entry if the requirements of this Part are not met.

Obligation for Submission of a Copy of the Court Ruling

Article 153. The pension insurance company shall be obliged to present a certified copy of the court decision to the State Insurance Supervision Agency within seven days following its receipt.

Responsibility for Entry Costs

Article 154. All expenses related to the entry of the occupational and/or universal fund and all actions taken for the purposes of its establishment and registration shall be on behalf of and at the account of the pension insurance company.

Board of Trustees

Article 155. /1/ The interests of the persons insured in the funds shall be represented by a Board of Trustees./2/ The Board of Trustees shall be comprised of an equal number of representatives of the nationally represented employer and worker organizations and one representative of the pension insurance company. /3/ The rights and obligations of the Board of Trustees shall be regulated in a decree of the Council of Ministers upon proposal of the State Insurance Supervision Agency./4/ The proposals and decisions of the Board of Trustees shall have an advisory nature for the pension insurance company.

Supervision

Article 156. /1/ The activity of the universal and occupational pension funds and that of the managing pension insurance companies shall be supervised by the State Insurance Supervision Agency in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Supplementary Voluntary Pension Insurance Law./2/ For its activity under paragraph 1 the State Insurance Supervision Agency shall collect a fee from the pension insurance company determined by the Council of Ministers.

CHAPTER ELEVENINSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS

Type and Rates of the Insurance Contributions

Article 157. /1/ Supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be performed through monthly cash insurance contributions whose rate shall be determined by the Law for the Public Social Security Budget./2/ Contributions to universal pension funds shall be divided between the insurers and the insured persons in the ratio under art. 6, paragraph 3, item 1./3/ Contributions to occupational pension funds shall be entirely at the expense of the insurers.

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/4/ Self-insured persons shall be insured with a universal pension fund at their account.

Payment of Insurance Contributions

Article 158. Supplementary mandatory pension insurance contributions shall be paid simultaneously with the public social insurance contributions.

Collection of Insurance Contributions

Article 159. /1/ Insurance contributions to pension funds shall be collected by the National Social Security Institute./2/ Insurance contributions under paragraph 1 shall be transferred to a specialized account for supplementary mandatory pension insurance at the National Social Security Institute. /3/ The National Social Security Institute shall transfer the received contributions from the special account to the account of the respective pension fund, indicated by the managing pension insurance company, within ten days after they have been received.(4) The pension insurance company shall pay the National Social Security Institute service fees in accordance with the amount of the contributions received in the pension insurance fund. The amount of these fees shall be determined on an annual basis by the provisions of the Public Social Security Budget Law. (5) Service fees under paragraph 4 shall be paid by the pension insurance company to the National Social Security Institute within ten days from the deposition of the insurance contributions in the account of the pension fund.(6) In case of an unjustifiable delay of the transfer of amounts under paragraph 3 and paragraph 5 the pension insurance company and the National Social Security Institute shall pay each other the lawful interest for the period of delay.(7) The relations of the National Social Security Institute and the pension insurance company shall be settled through a contract.(8) The pension insurance company shall be held responsible before the insured persons for the insurance contributions actually transferred by the National Social Security Institute.

CHAPTER TWELVE

TAX PREFERENCES

Exemption from Tax

Article 160. /1/ Income of occupational and universal pension funds shall not be subject to tax under the Corporate Income Tax Law./2/ Investment return on assets of the occupational and universal fund, distributed among the individual accounts of the insured persons, shall not be subject to tax under the Individual Income Tax Law./3/ Services related to supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall not be subject to tax under the VAT Law./4/ The financial result of the licensed supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be reduced with the pension reserve formed in accordance with art. 192, paragraph 2, as well as with its investment return.

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Deduction of Individual Contributions from Taxable Income

Article 161. Individual contributions for supplementary mandatory insurance in a universal pension fund by individuals shall be deductible from their income before taxation in the order, manner and to the extent determined under the Individual Income Tax Law.

Recognition of Contributions as Expense

Article 162. Employer contributions for supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be recognized as operation expenses in accordance with the Corporate Income Tax Law.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RIGHTS OF THE INSURED PERSONS

Restrictions on Pension Fund Membership

Article 163. Insured persons shall have the right to be members of only one occupational and/or one universal pension fund.

Non-responsibility for Liabilities

Article 164. Insured persons and the pension fund shall not be responsible for any liabilities of the pension insurance company which has established it and is managing it.

Rights in Case of Occurrence of Old Age as Insurance Event

Article 165. In case of occurrence of old age as an insurance event, the person insured in a universal pension fund shall have the right to a life-time pension and the person insured in an occupational pension fund shall have the right to an early retirement pension.

Types of Pensions

Article 166. /1/ Supplementary pensions under this code shall be individual. /2/ The supplementary pension shall be:1. occupational early retirement pension;2. individual supplementary pension./3/ The individual supplementary pension shall be life long.

Eligibility for Individual Supplementary Pension

Art. 167. Eligibility for individual supplementary pension shall arise when the insured person becomes eligible for old age and length of service pension under Part I.

Eligibility for Occupational Pension

Article 168. /1/ Workers under labor categories I and II shall be eligible for an occupational early retirement pension when the following conditions are met:

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1. not less than 10 years of service under labor category I and 8 years lower age than the age required for eligibility for old age and length of service pension under Part I;

2. not less than 15 years of service under labor category II and 3 years lower age than the age required for eligibility for old age and length of service pension under Part I.

/2/ Occupational pension for early retirement shall be received until the moment the person becomes eligible for old age and length of service pension under Part I.

Determining the Benefit Rate

Article 169. The individual pension benefit rate shall be determined on the basis of:1. the amount accrued in the individual account;2. biometric tables determined by the State Insurance Supervision Agency.

Rights of the Dependents

Article 170. /1/ In case of death of the insured person, the amount accrued in the individual account shall be paid to his/her dependents – surviving spouse, descending and ascending direct relatives, as a lump sum or for a limited period of time. /2/ In case of death of a pensioner of a universal fund the dependents of the deceased under paragraph 1 shall be entitled to receive the remaining amount in the individual account./3/ In case of death of a pensioner of an occupational fund the dependents of the deceased under paragraph 1 shall be entitled to the amount accrued in the individual account. In case there are no dependents under paragraph 1, the amounts accrued shall be transferred to the state budget./4/ When there are no dependents under paragraph 1, the amount accrued in the individual account, and in the cases under paragraph 2, the remaining amount, if any, shall be transferred to the pension reserve.

Right of Transfer

Article 171. The insured person shall have the right to transfer the amount accrued in the individual account from one occupational and/or universal fund to another occupational and/or universal fund, established and managed by another pension insurance company not more than once within one calendar year and without any limitations in case of disagreement with changes to the Rules of Operation.

Right of Withdrawal of Accrued Amount

Article 172. The insured person shall have the right, upon retirement, to withdraw as a lump sum or to transfer the amount accrued in the individual account from the occupational fund to a universal fund, if he/she does not meet the requirements under art. 168 for eligibility for occupational pension.

Right to Free Information

Article 173. /1/. The insured persons shall have the right to free information with respect to the funds accrued in their individual accounts, with respect to the return from their management and the pension rights arising thereof, once in one calendar year in the manner determined in the rules of the pension insurance company./2/ In case of death of the insured person the right under paragraph 1 shall be acquired by the persons under art. 170, paragraph 1.

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Notification Function

Article 174. /1/ The insured person and the persons under art. 170, paragraph 1, shall have the right to inform the Board of Trustees and the State Insurance Supervision Agency about any violations in the activity of the pension insurance company./2/ The Board of Trustees, the State Insurance Supervision Agency, respectively, shall be obliged to reply in writing to each appeal within two months following the date of receipt.

CHAPTER FOURTEENASSETS AND INVESTMENT

Investment Principles

Article 175. The assets of the universal and occupational pension fund shall be invested in observance with the principles of reliability, liquidity, profitability, and diversification.

Investment of Assets

Article 176. /1/ The assets of the pension fund may only be invested in:1. securities issued or guaranteed by the Government;2. securities registered for trading at the organized security markets;3. municipal bonds;4. bank deposits;5. real estate and mortgages./2/ Not less than 50 per cent of the assets of the pension fund shall be invested in securities issued or guaranteed by the government, and/or in receivables on bank deposits. (3) Not more than 5 per cent of the assets of the pension fund may be invested in real estate.

Investment Prohibition

Article 177. The assets of the occupational and universal pension fund may not be invested in: 1. securities which are not fully paid up;2. securities issued by the pension insurance company which manages the fund or by persons related to

it.

Investment Restrictions

Article 178. /1/ The pension insurance company may invest up to 5 per cent of the assets of the occupational and universal pension fund in securities issued by one company./2/ The State Insurance Supervision Agency, in coordination with the Securities and Stock Exchange Commission, may allow a pension insurance company to invest up to 10 per cent of the assets of the occupational and universal pension fund in securities issued by one company. The Agency shall issue or deny to issue a written permission within two weeks following the receipt of the application./3/ The pension insurance company and the occupational and universal pension fund may not acquire more than 10 per cent of the shares of one issuer or to acquire participation through which to appoint directly or indirectly more than half of the members of the managing body, or in another way to exercise decisive influence on decision-making related to the activity of the issuer.

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Loan Prohibition

Article 179. The pension insurance company may not give loans or become a guarantor to third parties with the assets of the occupational and universal pension funds.

Investment Abroad

Article 180. /1/ The pension insurance company may not invest more than 5 per cent of the assets of the pension fund abroad in government securities and municipal bonds, and more than 5 per cent of its assets in securities traded at the registered security markets./2/ The investment under paragraph 1 shall be made in the manner determined by the Minister of Finance in coordination with the governor of the Bulgarian National Bank.

Asset Evaluation

Article 181. The manner of evaluation of assets of pension funds and pension insurance companies shall be determined by an act of the Council of Ministers.

Contract with an Investment Intermediary

Article 182. The pension insurance company shall be obliged to conclude a contract with one or more licensed investment intermediaries for transactions with securities related to the management of the assets of the occupational and/or universal pension fund.

Contract with a Depository Bank

Article 183. /1/ Dematerialized securities, with the exception of government securities, owned by the pension insurance company and by the occupational and/or universal pension fund shall be entered in the Central Depository Register./2/ Cash and other securities, apart from those under paragraph 1, owned by the pension insurance company and by the occupational and/or universal pension fund shall be kept in depository banks which shall be selected from a list approved by the State Insurance Supervision Agency in coordination with the Bulgarian National Bank./3/ The relations between the depository bank under paragraph 2 and the pension insurance company shall be settled in a written contract./4/ Depository banks shall effect payments at the account of the pension insurance company and the universal and/or occupational pension fund./5/ Depository banks may not be the same entity as, or an entity related to, the investment intermediary./6/ Depository banks may not become a creditor or a guarantor of the pension insurance company and of the occupational and/or universal pension fund, except for receivables under contracts for depository services./7/ Depository banks shall separate the funds of the pension insurance company and of the occupational and/or universal pension fund from its own assets and shall account for them separately./8/ Depository banks shall not be responsible for their liabilities to creditors with the funds due to the pension insurance company and the occupational and/or universal pension fund./9/ Depository banks shall be obliged:1. to make the payments related to transactions with the assets of the pension insurance company and

the occupational and/or universal pension fund for which an order has been received, in due time;

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2. to dispose with the deposited assets of the pension insurance company and of the occupational and/or universal pension fund only by instruction of the persons authorized by the pension insurance company. When these instructions are in contradiction with the law, the Statute, or the Rules of the pension insurance company, or with the contract for depository services, they shall not be implemented;

3. to report on a regular basis to the pension insurance company for the deposited assets and the transactions performed;

4. to inform the State Insurance Supervision Agency of violations of the provisions of this code./10/ Depository banks shall assist the pension insurance company and the occupational and/or universal pension fund in obtaining information and for participation of issuers in whose securities they have invested, as well as to take other responsibilities related to the deposited assets in accordance with the concluded contracts. The commission of the depository banks may not exceed the usual rate for the services rendered.

Actuarial Services

Article 184. /1/ Actuarial service of the pension insurance company and the occupational and/or universal pension fund shall be rendered directly by a licensed actuary under a labor contract with the pension insurance company./2/ Licensing of actuaries shall be done under the terms and conditions determined by the State Insurance Supervision Agency.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING

Accounting Requirements to Pension Insurance Companies and Pension Funds

Article 185. The pension insurance company and the occupational and universal pension funds shall organize and carry out their accounting and prepare their balance sheets in compliance with the provisions of the Accountancy Act, the National Chart of Accounts, the National Accounting Standards and the provisions of this code.

Pension Fund Accounting

Article 186. The pension insurance company shall report separately the accounts of the pension fund and prepare a separate balance sheet in accordance with an accounting standard adopted by the Council of Ministers.

Annual Financial Statement

Article 187. /1/ The annual financial statements of the pension insurance company and the pension funds managed by it shall be audited and verified by certified public accountants or by specialized auditing companies approved by the State Insurance Supervision Agency./2/ The certified public accountants and the specialized auditing companies shall perform a conscientious and impartial audit and shall keep the confidentiality of the information.

Audit of Annual Financial Statements

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Article 188. The activity report and the annual financial statement of the pension fund shall be adopted by the General Meeting of the pension insurance company.

Promulgation of the Statement

Article 189. The annual financial statements of the pension insurance company and of the pension funds managed by it, adopted by the General Meeting, shall be promulgated simultaneously in the State Gazette.

Obligation for Presentation of Statements

Article 190. /1/ The pension insurance company shall present its adopted annual financial statements to the State Insurance Supervision Agency./2/ Pension insurance companies shall be obliged to present to the State Insurance Supervision Agency, upon request, financial statements representing their financial condition, as well as the condition of the pension funds managed by them.

CHAPTER SIXTEENPENSION RESERVES

Guarantees for Fulfillment of Obligations

Article 191. The pension insurance company managing an occupational and/or universal pension fund shall guarantee with its assets the fulfillment of the obligations to the persons insured in the fund.

Reserves of the Pension Insurance Company

Article 192. /1/ The pension insurance company shall be obliged to establish general reserves in accordance with the Commercial Law./2/ The pension insurance company managing a universal pension fund shall necessarily establish a pension reserve under the terms and conditions determined by the Council of Ministers./3/ The pension reserve shall cover payment of pensions to individuals who have lived longer than the preliminary actuarial projections./4/ Pension insurance companies may not distribute dividends to their shareholders before the formation of a pension reserve.

Minimum Rate of Return

Article 193. /1/ The State Insurance Supervision Agency shall determine a minimum rate of return which the pension insurance companies shall achieve when investing the assets of the universal and occupational pension funds./2/ In case of failure to meet the requirements of paragraph 1, the State Insurance Supervision Agency shall determine a deadline for the pension insurance company to present a business plan for improvement of its activity.

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CHAPTER SEVENTEENTRANSFORMATION, TERMINATION, LIQUIDATION, AND BANKRUPTCY OF

SUPPLEMENTARY MANDATORY PENSION FUNDS

Transformation of the Pension Fund

Article 194. /1/ The supplementary mandatory pension fund may not merge or separate another pension fund from it, nor may it be transformed in a commercial partnership, non-profit organization or cooperative./2/ A pension fund established and managed by a pension insurance company may merge or join with another pension fund established by another pension insurance company under the terms and conditions determined in a decree of the Council of Ministers./3/ A pension fund may not be terminated with the exception of cases of bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy Proceedings

Article 195. /1/ Bankruptcy proceedings for a pension fund shall be initiated in the event that it is insolvent, when it is unable to pay its obligations to the insured persons or delays these payments or pays its obligations partially. In such cases the managing pension insurance company shall be obliged to notify the State Insurance Supervision Agency immediately./2/ In the cases under paragraph 1, the Agency shall:1. investigate and, within its competence, use all opportunities for financial rehabilitation of the fund;2. when all opportunities have been exhausted, give its consent for termination of the fund and propose

to the court to appoint an assignee in bankruptcy indicated by it3. the court shall appoint the indicated or another assignee in bankruptcy.

Rights of the Assignee in Bankruptcy

Article 196. /1/ In the cases under art. 195 the assignee in bankruptcy shall be considered authorized to transfer amounts from the individual accounts from one pension fund to another in accordance with a contract between him and another pension insurance company./2/ The contracts under paragraph 1 shall become effective after their approval by the State Insurance Supervision Agency.

Rights of the Insured Person

Article 197. /1/ In the cases under art. 196 the person insured with the fund shall have the right to confirm by a written application his/her participation in the fund to which the funds from the terminated universal or occupational fund have been transferred, or to transfer the funds to another fund. In the above mentioned cases fees under art. 202, paragraph 1, shall not be collected.

Obligations of the State Insurance Supervision Agency

Article 198. The State Insurance Supervision Agency shall be obliged to notify in writing the insured persons of their rights under art. 197 by making an announcement in the State Gazette and in at least two central daily newspapers.

Terms for Application of the Rights of the Insured Persons

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Article 199. The insured persons shall be obliged to apply their rights under art. 197 within 30 days following the date of the announcement in the State Gazette under art. 198.

Applicability of the Supplementary Voluntary Pension Insurance Law

Article 200. The provisions of Chapter Six of the Supplementary Voluntary Pension Insurance Law shall apply to all issues unsettled in this Part related to transformation, termination, liquidation, and bankruptcy of the pension insurance companies, as long as this code does not provide otherwise.

CHAPTER EIGHTEENFEES AND DEDUCTIONS

Mandatory Fees

Article 201. /1/ For the performance of their activities related to supplementary mandatory pension insurance and for management of the pension funds the following fees and deductions shall be introduced to the benefit of the pension insurance companies:1. a percentage of each insurance contribution in a way and to the extent established in the Rules of

Operation and Organization of the pension fund; the maximum amount shall not exceed 5 per cent of the amount paid to the pension fund;

2. an investment fee amounting to one per cent of the pension fund assets per year./2/ The deduction under paragraph 1 item 2 shall be charged in the manner determined by the State Insurance Supervision Agency.

Additional Fees

Article 202. /1/ The pension insurance company may charge additional fees in the following cases:1. for each transfer of funds accrued in the individual account from one fund to another;2. when the insured person demands information more than once a year./2/ Fees and deductions under paragraph 1, items 1 and 2 may not exceed two times the amount of the actual expenses.

Legal Grounds for Fees

Article 203. The pension insurance companies may not collect other fees and deductions except those indicated in this Chapter.

CHAPTER NINETEENADMINISTRATIVE PENAL RESPONSIBILITY

Section IResponsibility for Violations of the Provisions of the Public Social Insurance Legislation

Grounds

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Article 204. /1/ Individuals who violate the provisions of this code or who have failed to comply with instructions by a controlling body shall be penalized with a fine amounting to 500 from 50 to 1000 leva if they are not liable for heavier penalty./2/ In case of repeated violation under paragraph 1 the penalty shall amount to 1000 from 500 to 2000 leva. The violation shall be considered repeated if it has been committed within one year following the coming into effect of the penal ordinance issued to the violator for a violation of the same kind./3/ Legal entities and sole traders shall be penalized with property sanctions amounting to 10,000 to 50,000 leva.

Determining Violations

Article 205. /1/ Violations under art. 204 shall be determined by acts drawn up by the controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute./2/ Penal ordinances shall be issued by the director of the territorial office of the National Social Security Institute or by another official authorized by him./3/ Determining of violations, the issue, appeal and implementation of penal ordinances, shall be done in the manner established by the Administrative Violations and Penalties Law.

Section II

Responsibility for Violations of the Provisions of Supplementary Mandatory Pension Insurance Legislation

Liability for Performance without Pension License

Article 206. /1/ Any legal entity performing activities related to supplementary mandatory pension insurance without the necessary license shall be punishable by a fine amounting to 10,000 to 100,000 leva./2/ Entities deliberately creating conditions for the conclusion of insurance contracts with legal entities without a pension license shall be punishable by a fine from 1,500 to 15,000 leva if they are not liable for a heavier penalty.

Establishment of Violations

Article 207. /1/ Violations of the provisions of this code regarding supplementary mandatory pension insurance shall be determined by acts, drawn up by officials authorized by the chairman of the State Insurance Supervision Agency./2/ Penal ordinances shall be issued by the chairman of the State Insurance Supervision Agency or by another official duly authorized by him./3/ Establishment of violations, issuance, appeal and execution of penal ordinances shall be subject to the provisions of the Administrative Violations and Penalties Act./4/ The funds collected from fines and property sanctions shall be transferred into an account of the agency and shall be spent under conditions determined by the Minister of Finance.

ADDITIONAL PROVISION

§ 1. In accordance with this code:

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1. “Enterprise” shall be any place where there are employed workers.2. “Net wage” shall be the wage received after deduction of all taxes due. “Net wage” shall be the wage

received after deduction of mandatory insurance contributions determined by law, which are due by the person, as well as all taxes due.

3. “Insurance participation” shall be the period during which contributions have been paid or are due.4. “Farmers” shall be the physical entities producing vegetal and/ or animal products for sale and

are registered in accordance with the due order.

TRANSITION AND FINAL PROVISIONS

§ 1. /1/Individuals whose employment has been terminated before December 31, 1999 and who have become eligible for pension under the repealed Pensions Law, may, until June 30, 2000, retire under the terms and conditions of the repealed law if this is more favorable for them. /2/ Cash benefits to individuals who are on leave for temporary incapacity or maternity on January 1, 2000, shall be paid in the amount and in the terms under the repealed Part III of the Labor Code of 1951, if this is more favorable for them. /3/ When calculating cash benefits for temporary incapacity or maternity of persons insured under art. 4, paragraph 1, item 3, the compensation taken into consideration shall be that received for the respective position through December 31, 1999 included.

§ 3. /1/ Until December 31, 2003, included, individuals under art. 6 and 7 of the repealed Pensions Law may retire under the conditions of these articles./2/ Officers and sergeants under art. 7 of the repealed Pension Law deprived of their rank and who are ascribed the statute of civil servants – civilians in accordance with art. 89, paragraph 1 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending the Law on the Ministry of the Interior (State Gazette, issue 29, 2000) may retire under the conditions and time of paragraph 1. At retirement the length of service of those persons shall be considered service for the rank of an officer or sergeant.

§ 4. /1/ Until December 31, 2009, included, individuals, who have worked 15 years 10 yearsunder labor category I or 20 years 15 yearsunder category II, may retire if they meet the requirements for length of participation and age under art. 68 but not earlier than 47 years for women and 52 years for men working under labor category I, and 52 years for women and 57 years for men working under labor category II./2/ Until December 31, 2009, included, individuals under art. 104, paragraph 3, may retire before reaching the age under art. 68 provided that they have reached 52 years of age and have accrued 90 points from length of participation and age. Until December 31, 2009, included, individuals with 10 years of service under the conditions of art. 104, paragraph 3, may retire earlier than the age under art. 68 in case the sum total of their age and length of participation equals 90 and they have reached 52 years of age for men and 47 years for women./3/ Until December 31, 2004, included, if the labor contract of a person working pursuant to the provisions of art. 104, paragraph 3 is terminated in accordance with art. 328, paragraph 1, items 1 and 2 of the Labor Code, the individual may retire not earlier than the completion of 45 years of age provided that s/he complies with the provisions of paragraph 2./3 4/ In the event that individuals under paragraphs 1 and 2 have used their rights, the funds accrued in the occupational pension fund shall be transferred to the Pension Fund of the public social insurance.

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§ 5. /1/ Until December 31, 2009, included, teachers shall be eligible for pension for old age and length of service with service as a teacher 30 years for men and 25 years for women and 3 years earlier than the age under art. 68. /2/ Individuals under paragraph 1 shall be paid a limited period early retirement pension from the Teachers’ Pension Fund, in an amount determined under art. 70 and reduced by 0.5 per cent for each month before the person’s completion of the age under art. 68./3/ Individuals who have had service as teachers after January 1, 1997, who retire after completion of the age under art. 68, shall be paid a pension for old age and length of service from the Pension Fund and a supplement from the Teachers’ Pension Fund amounting to 0.1 per cent of the pension for each month for which a contribution has been paid to the fund after completion of the age under paragraph 1./3/ Teachers who have become eligible for pension under para 1 and retire under art. 68, paragraph 1 - 3, shall be paid a pension for old age and length of service from the Pension Fund and a supplement from the Teachers’ Pension Fund amounting to 0.1 per cent of the pension for each month for which a contribution has been paid to the fund after completion of the age under paragraph 1./4/ The rate of the insurance contribution to the Teachers’ Pension Fund shall be determined on an annual basis by the Law for the Budget of the Public Social Insurance.§ 5a. Until December 31, 2005 insurance contributions for private farmers whoare involved in farming only, shall be paid on a chosen insured income between half and ten minimum wages established for the country.

§ 6. /1/ Until December 31, 2003, included, the amount of pensions, one or more, without the supplements to them, may not exceed four times the social pension for old age./2/ The supplement under art. 84 shall be calculated from the amount as limited under paragraph 1./3/ Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to individuals who have served as President and Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Chairman of the National Assembly, Prime Minister and judge at the Constitutional Court./4/ Until December 31, 2003 special merit pensions shall be paid out in the amount of four social pensions./5/Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be applied for wartime invalids upon completion of the age under art. 68.§ 7. /1/ Pensions granted through December 31, 1999, included, shall be recalculated in accordance with the provisions of this Code without changing the individual coefficient./2/ Recalculations shall be made provided that this is more favorable for the pensioner.

§ 8. Payment of pensions and supplements to them received through December 31, 1999, granted under repealed laws, shall continue.

§ 9. /1/ Insurance participation under this Code shall be the time recognized as length of service and for service for retirement through December 31, 1999, in accordance with the provisions in effect at the time./2/ The period of education of university graduates shall be considered length of service at retirement if by the year 2005 they have paid insurance contributions calculated on the basis of a minimum salary through the date of payment of contributions. The period for which contributions were paid shall be recognized as length of participation; however, it may not be longer than the period of standard education under the respective curriculum./3/ Persons who started their university course of education earlier than and during 1999/2000 academic year, may use their rights under paragraph 2, provided that they pay the respective insurance contributions within five years after the completion of their period of education./4/ Insurance contribution rates under paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be the same as those determined for the Pension Fund.

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§ 10. Until January 1, 2004, insurers shall reimburse the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund for all cash benefits paid out for temporary incapacity which has occurred as a result of work injury with traumatic damages during or in relation with work performed and which have occurred as a result of work performed under extraordinary circumstances or unusual conditions for a certain occupation.

§ 11. /1/ Until January 1, 2004, insurers which are commercial partnerships shall owe a supplementary insurance contribution to the Work Injury and Occupational Sickness Fund in case of work injury and occupational sickness which have resulted in disability or death of the worker through the insurer’s fault. The supplementary insurance contribution rate shall be as follows:

1. when disability pension is granted – 50 per cent of the amount of the pension for the period of disability;

2. when survivor pension is granted due to death of the worker – the amount of the survivor pension for the period it is received but not longer than ten years.

/2/ Instructions for determining the supplementary insurance contribution shall be issued by the official assigned with control management, income and expenses of public social insurance in the respective office of the National Social Security Institute. Instructions shall be subject to appeal and funds shall be collected in accordance with the provisions of this code.

§ 12. This Code shall repeal: 1. Part III of the Labor Code of 1951 Prom., issue. 91 of 13.11.1951, am., issue 93, 20.11.1951 г., am.

and suppl., issue 91 of 12.11.1957, issue 92 of 15.11.1957, SG, issue 24 of 2.04.1963, enacted 1.04.1963, issue 36 of 7.05.1963, issue 92 of 26.11.1963, issue 1 of 5.01.1965, issue 61 of 3.08.1965, issue 90 of 16.11.1965, issue 99 of 17.12.1965, enacted 1.1.1966, issue 15 of 23.02.1968, enacted 1.01.1968, amended, issue 333 of 26.04.1968, am. and suppl., issue 68 of 28.08.1970, issue 53 of 6.07.1973, issue 81 of 12.10.1973, issue 27 of 4.04. 1975, issue 63 of 6.08.1976, issue 32 of 22.04.1977, issue 57 of 21.07.1981, issue 44 of 05.06.1984, issue 26 of 1.04.1986, issue 27 of 4.04. 1986, issue 46 of 16.06.1989, issue 52 of 26.06.1992, am., issue 100 of 10.12.1992, issue 104 of 28.11.1995, am. and suppl., issue 28 of 2.04.1996, am., issue 155 of 29.12.1998.

2. Pensions Law (Prom., SG., issue 91 of 12.11.1957, enacted 1.01.1958, am., issue 92 of 15.11.1957, am. and suppl., issue 104 of 29.12.1959, enacted 1.01.1960, issue 51 of 27.06.1961, issue 105 of 28.12.1962, enacted 1.01.1963, SG, issue 103 of 29.12.1964, enacted 1.01. 1965, issue 92 of 23.11.1965, enacted 1.01. 1966, issue 25 of 29.03.1966, enacted 1.04.1966, issue 101 of 27.12.1966, enacted 1.01.1967, issue 102 of 29.12.1967 г., enacted 29.12.1967, suppl, issue 59 of 29.06.1969, enacted 1.08.1969, am., issue 97 of 16.12.1969, am. and suppl., issue 48 of 19.06.1970, suppl., issue 63 of 11.08.1970, am. and suppl., issue 3 of 12.01.1971, enacted 1.01.1971, am., issue 61 of 3.08.1971, enacted 1.08.1971, issue 36 of 9.05 1972, enacted 1.05.1972, am. and suppl., issue 65 of 18.08.1972, enacted 1.07.1972, suppl. issue 53 of 6.07.1973, enacted 1.09.1973, am. and suppl. issue 34 of 30.04.1974, enacted 1.06. 1974, issue 3 of 10.01.1975, enacted 1.01.1975, issue 36 of 13.05.1975, issue 53 of 11.07.1975, enacted 1.07.1975, suppl., issue 2 of 6.01.1976, enacted 1.01.1976, am., issue 63 of 6.08.1976, am. and suppl., issue 80 of 9.10.1979, issue 90 of 21.11.1980, enacted 1.01.1981, am. issue 9 of 0.01.1981, enacted 1.01.1981, issue 28 of 8.04.1983, enacted 1.09.1983, am. and suppl. issue 44 of 5.06.1984, issue 69 of 31.08.1984, enacted 1.09.1984, am., issue 70 of 6.09.1985, am. and suppl., issue 81 of 18.10.1985, am. issue 6 of 20.01.1989, enacted 1.01.1989, am. and suppl., issue 46 of 16.06.1989, am., issue 61 of 8.08.1989, am. issue 99 of 22.12.1989, issue 6 of 19.01.1990, am. and suppl., issue 30 of 13.04.1990, issue 81 of 9.10.1990, enacted 1.11.1990, am., issue 12 of 12.02.1991, am. and suppl., issue 52 of 26. 06.1992, Ruling № 11 of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Bulgaria of 29.07.1992. issue 64 of 7.08.1992; am. and suppl., issue 85 of 20.10.1992, issue 102 of 3.12.1993, am., issue 49 of 17.06.1994, enacted

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1.07.1994, am. issue 68 of 1.08.1995, enacted 1.09.1995, am. and suppl., issue 104 of 28.11.1995, issue 22 of 15.03.1996, enacted 1.04.1996, issue 67 of 6.08.1996, enacted 1.04.1996, am., issue 46 of 10.06.1997, enacted 1.07.1997, Ruling № 12 of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Bulgaria of 25.09.1997, issue 89 of 7.10.1997, am. and suppl. issue 123 of 22.12.1997, am. issue 153 of 23.12.1998, enacted 1.01.1999, issue 155 of 29.12.1998, enacted 1.07.1999, issue 57 and 69 of 1999.

3. The Law for Denying Pensions of Persons Who Have Been Involved in Fascist Activities (prom. SG. issue 9 of 1948, am. issue 176 of 1949, issue 71 of 1964)

§ 13. /1/ Decree 256 for Mutual Insurance of Cooperative Members (Prom., SG., issue 63 of 7.08.1953, am., issue 82 of 13.10.1953, am., issue 17 of 1.03.1955, issue 69 of 28.08.1956, issue 62 of 5.08.1958, am. issue 82 of 14.10.1958, am. issue 68 of 23.08.1960, issue 38 of 11.05.1962, suppl. SG, issue 500 of 28.06.1963, issue 21 of 13.03.1964, am. issue 32 of 23.04.1968, issue 26 and 26 of 1986) shall be repealed./2/ The activity of the public insurance of the Council for Mutual Insurance of Cooperative Members, as well as its assets and liabilities for receivables of insurance contributions and benefit payments shall be transferred to the public social insurance./3/ The remaining assets and liabilities of the Council for Mutual Insurance of Cooperative Members shall be transferred to the Central Council of Cooperatives. /4/ The period during which the persons have been insured under the Decree for Mutual Insurance of Cooperative Members shall be recognized as length of participation regardless of its duration.

§ 14. /1/ The Law for Social Security Fund (Prom. SG, issue 104 of 28.11.1995, am. and suppl. issue 55 from 11.07.1997, issue 123 of 22.12.1997, am. issue 59 of 26.05.1998, am. and suppl., issue 155 of 29.12.1998, enacted 1.01.1999, am. issue 12 of 12.02.1999) shall be repealed. /2/ Disposal with property under § 5, paragraph. 2 of the repealed Law for the Social Security Fund shall be performed by the Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute.

§ 15. In the Labor Code (prom. SG, issue 26 and 27 of 1986 and issue, am. and suppl. issue 6 of 22.01.1988, issue 21 of 13.03.1990, issue 30 of 13.04.1990, enacted 13.04. 1990 issue 94 of 23.11.1990, issue 27 of 5.04.1991, enacted 5.04.1991, issue 32 of 23.04.1991, issue 104 of 17.12.1991, suppl., issue 23 of 19.03.1992, am. and suppl., issue 26 of 31.03.1992, suppl., issue 88 of 30.10.1992, am. and suppl., issue 100 of 10.12.1992, enacted 1.01.1993; Ruling № 12 of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Bulgaria of 20.07.1995 – issue 69 of 4.08.1995; suppl., issue 87 of 29.09.1995, am. and suppl., issue 2 of 5.01.1996, am. issue 12 of 9.02.1996, am. and suppl., issue 28 of 2.04.1996, am., issue 124 of 23.12.1997, am. and suppl., issue 22 of 24.02.1998; Ruling № 11 of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Bulgaria of 30.04.1998 - issue 52 of 8.05.1998; suppl., issue 56 of 19.05.1998, issue 83 of 21.07.1998, issue 83 of 21.07.1998, issue 108 of 15.09.1998, am. and suppl., issue 133 of 11.11. 1998, issue 51 and 67 of 4.06.1999).1. Art. 114 shall be repealed.2. Art. 163, paragraph 1 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 163. /1/ The female worker shall be entitled to 135 days of maternity leave for each child; 45 days of this leave shall be taken prior to birth giving.3. In art. 333, paragraph 1 and 3 the words “art. 330, paragraph 2, item 5” shall be replaced with “art.

330, paragraph 2, item 6”.

§ 16. The Law for Protection in Case of Unemployment and Encouragement of Employment (Prom. SG, of the Constitutional Court of Republic of Bulgaria of 120 of 16.12.1997, enacted 1.01.1998, am., issue 123 of 22.12.1997, enacted 1.01.1998, issue 155 of 29.12.1998 enacted 1.07.1999, suppl., issue 26 of 23.03.1999, enacted 23.03.1999, issue 50 of 1.06.1999, enacted 1.01.2000, am., issue 65 of 20.07.1999,

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suppl., issue 67 of 27.07.1999, enacted 28.08.1999, am., issue 68 of 30.07.1999) shall be amended as follows:1. In art. 20, paragraph 2, first sentence, the words “ratio 7:1” shall be replaced with “the following ratio:

a) for 2000 – 2001 – 80:20;b) for 2002 – 75:25;c) for 2003 – 70:30;d) for 2004 – 65:35;e) for 2005 – 60:40;f) for 2006 – 55:45;g) for 2007 and all consecutive years – 50:50.”

2. Art. 109 shall be repealed.

§ 17. In the Supplementary Voluntary Pension Insurance Law (prom. SG, issue 65 of 1999) in art. 109 the word “fine” shall be replaced with “property sanction”.

§ 18. The following amendments and supplements shall be made to the Health Insurance Law (prom. SG, issue 70 of 1998,; am. and suppl. issue 93 and 153 of 1998, issue 62, 65, 67, and 69 of 1999):1. In art. 6:

a) paragraph 2 shall be amended as follows:“/2/ The National Health Insurance Fund shall consist of a head office, regional health insurance funds and their municipal branches with offices in accordance with a list approved by the Council of Ministers.”b) in paragraph 3 the word “central” shall be deleted

2. In art. 23, paragraph 2, the word “temporary” shall be deleted and the phrase “off-budget accounts and funds” shall be replaced with “credits from other institutions”.

3. In art. 29a) in paragraph 2 the words “Public Social Security Fund” shall be replaced by “the budget of

the Public Social Insurance”;b/ new paragraph 4 shall be added:

“/4/ In case the draft of the Act on National Health Insurance Funds is not passed by the Parliament by the beginning of the budget year, insurance revenues shall be collected and insurance expenditures shall be made in accordance with the adopted budget for the previous year. Operation expenditures of the National Health Insurance Fund shall amount monthly to 1/12 of the expenditures stipulated in the budget for the preceding year.”

4. Art. 33 shall be amended as follows:“Article 33. The following individuals shall be obliged to be insured in the National Health

Insurance Fund:1. all Bulgarian citizens, who are not residents of other countries as well;2. Bulgarian citizens, who are also residents of other countries and live permanently on the

territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;3. foreign citizens or individuals without citizenship, who have been granted permission for

long-term sojourn in the Republic of Bulgaria, unless there is a different international agreement to which Bulgaria is a signatory;

4. individuals who have been granted status of refugees or have been granted an asylum;5. Art. 39 shall be amended as follows:

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“Art. 39. /1/ All individuals who are obliged by law to make insurance contributions shall be obliged, from the occurrence of the grounds for health insurance, to provide information about the insured persons to the territorial offices of the National Social Security Institute on a monthly basis by filing declarations approved by the National Social Security Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund./2/ Individuals insuring their family members under this law shall provide information about them in declarations approved by the National Social Security Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund./3/ In the cases when the individuals pay advance contributions under this law they shall complete a declaration for the period approved by the national Social Security Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund./4/ Foreign individuals sojourning in Bulgaria for a short period of time, as well as individuals with dual Bulgarian and foreign citizenship, who are not insured under this law, shall pay the cost for medical services they have received, unless there is an effective international agreement to which Republic of Bulgaria is a signatory.”

6. Art. 40 shall be amended as follows:a) paragraph 1 shall be amended as follows:

“/1/ The health insurance contribution of the insured person, determined under art. 29, paragraph 3, shall be determined on the following income and shall be paid as follows:1. for individuals receiving income from employment or official relations, or from

relations based on special laws – the taxable income under the Individual Income Tax Law:

a) the contribution for individuals working under labor relations shall be paid by the employer or by the agency and the insured person in the following ratio:a) for 2000 – 2001 – 80:20;b) for 2002 – 75:25;c) for 2003 – 70:30;d) for 2004 – 65:35;e) for 2005 – 60:40;f) for 2006 – 55:45;g) for 2007 and all consecutive years – 50:50.

b) the contribution for individuals working under official relations and relations based on special laws shall be paid by the employer and shall be at the account of the republican budget;

c) the employer or agency shall pay the contributions simultaneously with the payment of wages; when paying wages the employer or agency shall deduct the contributions owed by the insured persons and the contributions for the family members insured by them;

2. sole traders, individuals who have established a limited liability company, partners in commercial partnerships and individuals registered as freelance professionals or craftsmen by registration, shall be insured on a declared monthly income which may not be smaller than two times the minimum wage established for the country, and annually on the taxable income in accordance with the information in their tax return:

a) contributions shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due;

b) the monthly insured income, with respect to the calculation of the annual amount of the contribution, shall be determined by dividing the annual taxable income by the period during which the respective activity is performed;

c) in case of annual taxation contributions shall be paid in the terms determined for paying taxes under the Individual Income Tax Law;

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3. contributions for individuals who do not declare any income under item 2 and who work without a labor relation under a contract with an assignor – enterprise or another organization, shall be paid every month on the taxable income from the enterprise or organization by deducting the, from the compensation of the person; contributions shall be paid by the enterprise or organization by the tenth day of the moth following the month for which they are due; the income of these individuals shall be equalized annually in accordance with item 2, “b” and “c”;

4. for pensioners – the amount of the pension or sum of pensions, without the supplements to them; contributions shall be at the account of the republican budget and shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due;

5. for pensioners receiving pensions under international agreements, entirely at the account of a foreign insurance institute – two times the minimum wage established for the country; contributions shall be at the account of the person and shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due;

6. for individuals receiving benefits for temporary incapacity due to sickness, pregnancy, birth-giving or child raising – the amount of the benefit; contributions shall be at the account of the employer or the agency and shall be equal to the part of the contribution owed by them, payable upon payment of the benefits; when the person is insured at his/her account contributions shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due;

7. for individuals receiving income on different grounds, indicated in items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6- contributions shall be paid on the sum of the insured incomes;

8. for individuals receiving unemployment benefits – the amount of the benefit; contributions shall be at the account of the Professional Qualification and Unemployment Fund and shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due;

9. for persons and family members entitled to social assistance as well as for children under age without parents, who are not subject to insurance on other grounds – one minimum wage established for the country; contributions shall be at the account of the municipal budgets and shall be paid by the tenth day of each month following the month for which they are due;

10. for soldiers in the military draft, for war veterans and military disabled persons, for disabled persons injured during or in relation with the defense of the country, during natural disasters and accidents and for Ministry of the Interior employees injured during performance of their official duties, who are not subject to other insurance; for persons undergoing proceedings for receiving a refugee status or asylum, for detained or imprisoned individuals, for persons without income accommodated in orphanages, in homes for pre-school children and social service homes; for university students without income until completion of 26 years of age – one minimum wage established for the country; contributions shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due, and shall be transferred through the respective agency at the account of the republican budget or the municipal budgets;

11. for persons on unpaid leave who are not subject to insurance on other grounds – one minimum wage established for the country; contributions shall be at the account of the employer and shall be paid upon payment of wages by the respective enterprise or another organization;

12. for employees of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and other religions legally recognized, who are not under labor relations – one minimum wage established for

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the country; contributions shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due by the headquarters of the respective religion;

13. for family members who are not insured – five per cent of the contribution for each insured family member; contributions shall be at the account of the insured person; when the insured person receives income under items 1, 3 and 6, the contribution shall be deducted by the employer (enterprise), agency or organization upon payment of wages; for persons working under labor or official relation or relations based on special laws, contributions shall be deducted and paid by the employer or agency upon payment of wages or benefits; if the person is insured at his/her account, as well as for persons insured under item 3, contributions shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due;

14. persons who are not subject to insurance under items 1 – 13 shall be insured on an insured income declared by them, not smaller than two times the minimum wage established for the country; contributions shall be at their account and shall be paid by the tenth day of the month following the month for which they are due; if such persons are subject to annual taxation, there shall be annual equalization of contributions in accordance with item 2.”

b) paragraph 3 shall be amended as follows:“/3/ For individuals under paragraph 1, item 7, contributions shall be paid on the sum of the insured income in the manner determined for the respective type of income but on not more than ten times the minimum wage established for the country.”

7. Art. 41 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 41. /1/ Insurance contributions under this law shall be paid to the accounts for collection of health insurance contributions in the territorial offices of the National Social Security Institute, from where they shall be transferred to the health contribution collection account of the head office on the National Social Security Institute on an annual basis./2/ The amounts collected in the National Social Security Institute from health insurance contributions shall be transferred to the collection account of the National health Insurance Fund by the end of the working day.”

8. Art. 42 shall be amended as follows:a) paragraph 1 shall be amended as follows:“/1/ The insured income on the basis of which the contribution is calculated shall be determined on the basis of the pay-roll and other documents for paid wages, retirement files, paid sickness leaves, paid unemployment benefits and tax returns under the Individual Income Tax Law.”b) paragraph 3 shall be amended as follows:“/3/ Individuals shall file a declaration to the payor of the income or to the respective bodies for their family members for whom they are obliged to pay contributions. The annual tax return under the Individual Income Tax Law shall contain the health insurance contributions paid during the year and the amounts due after the annual equalization, if any.”c) new paragraph 4 shall be created:“/4/ Employers, tax offices, municipal authorities, agencies, assignors, and self-insured persons shall be obliged to present the information required under art. 42, paragraphs 1 and 3 to the national Social Security Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund.

9. Art. 43 shall be amended as follows:

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“Art. 43. Persons insured under art. 40, paragraph 1, items 2, 5 and 14 may pay health insurance contributions for themselves and for their family members in advance for a period chosen by them.”

10. Art. 44 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 44. Contributions shall be paid:1. by bank order; 2. by postal order.”

11. In art. 45, paragraph 1, item 8 add “and” after “dentist”.

12. In art. 55, para 6 the words “art. 32” shall be replaced by “art. 31, paragraph 3”.

13. The following amendments shall be made in art. 63:a) in item 1 the words “the quantity and types of medical services received by the respective

person and their price” shall be deleted;b) in item 2 the words “information for activities performed by him and the paid amounts”

shall be deleted;c) item 3 shall be amended as follows:“3. a register of manufacturers, importers and distributors of medicines and pharmacies who have concluded a contract with the National Health Insurance Fund;”.

14. Art. 64 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 64. Each insured person shall be entitled to receive from the National Health Insurance Fund all information concerning Medical services used by him/her in the last five years, in the manner determined by the Fund.”

15. Art. 69 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 69. The National Social Security Institute shall be obliged to provide monthly information to the National Health Insurance Fund with respect to insured persons and amount of collected health insurance contributions.”

16. Art. 73, paragraph 1, item 1 shall be deleted.

17. New art. 73a shall be added:“Art. 73a. Financial control of the revenue of the National Health Insurance Fund from health insurance contributions and interest due shall be exercised by the controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute in accordance with the Mandatory Public Insurance Code.”

18. In art. 77 after “controlling bodies of the National health Insurance Fund” add “and the National Social Security Institute”.

19. The following amendments shall be made in art. 104:a) in paragraph 1 “50 to 100 leva for each unpaid contribution” shall be replaced with “500

to 1000 leva”;b) in paragraph 2 “200 leva monthly for each unpaid contribution” shall be replaced with

“2000 leva”.

20. The following amendments shall be made in art. 105:

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a) in paragraph 1 “financial inspectors of the National Social Security Institute" shall be replaced with "“controlling bodies of the National Social Security Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund”;

b) paragraph 2 shall be amended as follows:“/2/ Penal ordinances shall be issued by the director of the National Social Security Institute, the director of the National Health Insurance Fund or by the director of the respective regional health insurance fund and by the director of the respective territorial office of the National Social Security Institute.”

21. Art. 107 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 107. Imposing penalties under art. 103 and 104 shall not terminate the obligation to pay contributions together with the legal interest established for the period.”

22. Art. 109 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 109. /1/ Insured persons who are obliged to insure themselves and their family members who have not paid more than three contributions shall pay the medical service they have received. When the insured person pays the contributions due to the National Social Security Institute, his/her insurance rights shall be restored as of the date of payment of the contributions, and the cost of the medical services shall not be reimbursed./2/ Failure to pay contributions which is not through the fault of the insured persons shall not deprive them of insurance rights. The amount paid for medical services by persons in such cases shall be reimbursable.”

23. In art. 110 “six months” shall be replaced with “one month”.

24. The following amendments shall be made in § 1 of the additional provisions:a) item 3 shall be amended as follows:“3. “Family members” shall be a spouse, children up to 18 years of age, and if they are still students – up to 26 years of age, and if they are disabled or permanently incapacitated – regardless of their age”;b) new item 8 shall be added:“8. “Enterprise” shall be any legal entity, sole trader and non-personified entities performing economic activity.”

25. The following amendments shall be made in § 19 of the transition and final provisions:a) the current language shall become paragraph 1;b) new paragraph 2 shall be created:“/2/ For the implementation of art. 39 and Part V of the law the Council of Minister shall adopt regulations upon proposal of the National Social Security Institute and the National Health Insurance Fund.”

§ 19. New items 16 and 17 shall be created in art. 23, paragraph 3 of the Corporate Income Tax Law (prom. SG, issue 115 of 1997, am. issue 19 of 1998, am. issue 21 and 153 of 1998, issue 12, 50, 51, 64, 81, and 103 of 1999):“16. funds in a separate account established in accordance with art. 139, paragraph 2 of the Mandatory Public Insurance Code – from licensed pension insurance companies;17. income from investment of funds under item 16.”

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§ 20. The following amendments shall be made in the Law for the Ministry of the Interior (prom. SG, issue 122 of 1997, issue 29 of 1998 – Ruling No 3 of the Constitutional Court of 1998, am. issue 70, 73 and 153 of 1998, issue 30 of 1999):

1. In art. 229:a) items 3 and 4 of paragraph 1 shall me deleted;b) paragraph 3 shall be amended as follows:“/3/ For the duration of their paid annual leave officers and sergeants shall receive their gross wage in the amount determined at the time when the leave is taken.”

2. Art. 230 shall be amended as follows:“ Art. 230. Officers and sergeants shall be entitled to a leave for working under harmful conditions, for performance of public and civil duties; for temporary incapacity due to pregnancy, birth-giving and adoption, for child-raising, for breast feeding and feeding a small child; in case of death or serious illness of a parent; for two and more living children, for admission exam at an educational institution, as well as non-paid leave in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code.”

§ 21. The following amendments shall be made to the Foreign Investment Law (prom. SG, issue 97 of 1997, am. issue 99 of 1997, am. issue 29 and 153 of 1998):

1. Art. 30 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 30. Workers who are foreign individuals shall be insured in accordance with the Bulgarian legislation.”2. Art. 32 shall be amended as follows:“Art. 32. The provisions of the Bulgarian legislation shall apply to all issues related to labor relations with an employer under art. 29, which are not settled in the labor contract.”

§ 22. /1/ The Teachers pension Fund established under the already revoked Act on Social Security Fund shall continue operating until it is transformed into a universal pension fund in the year 2009./2/ The Supervisory Board of the National Social Security Institute shall approve the off-budget account of the Teachers’ Fund upon proposal by the director./3/ The funds accrued in the Teachers’ Pension Fund shall be spent for payment of pensions and supplements in accordance with § 5, paragraphs 2 and 3./4/ The free funds of the Teachers’ Pension Fund may be used for purchasing government securities and municipal bonds and may be invested in deposit accounts in banks determined under art. 29./5/ Primary manager of the assets of the Teachers’ Pension Fund shall be the director of the National Social Security Institute, and secondary managers shall be the directors of the territorial offices of the National Social Security Institute./6/ The provisions of Part I of this Code on management, control and disputes, as well as administrative penal responsibility, shall also apply to collection and spending of the assets of the Teachers’ Pension Fund.

§ 23. /1/ This Code shall come into force on January 1, 2000 with the exception of:1. art. 20, paragraph 3 which shall come into force on January 1, 2001;2. art. 64, paragraphs 3 and 4 which shall come into force on January 1, 2004;3. art. 127, paragraph 1 which shall come into force on January 1, 2002;4. paragraph 15 which shall come into force on the day of promulgation in the State Gazette.”

This Code was adopted by the XXXVIII National Assembly on December 2, 1999 and bears the official seal of the national Assembly.

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Chairman of the National Assembly,Jordan Sokolov

TRANSITION AND FINAL PROVISIONS/OF THE AMENDMENT ACT/

§ 39. The legal procedings on determination of work injury and occupational sickness instigated prior to December 31, 1999 shall be reviewed by the court pursuant to the Civil Code.

§ 40. In the Health Insurance Act (amended State Gazette issue 70, 1998, issue 93 and 153, 1998; issue 62, 65, 67, 69, 110 and 113, 1999; issue 1 and 31, 2000) the following amendments are introduced:

1. Art. 40, paragraph 1 includes a new item 10:“10. For parents (step parents) or spouses looking after disabled persons with over 90 percent lost working capacity and needing constant care, who are not insured with other premises – the amount of the minimum salary for the country, The contributions at the account of the municipal budget shall be paid up to the 10th day of the month following the month for which they are due.2. The present items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 shall become items 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15

respectively.§ 41. The following changes shall be made to the Supplementary Voluntary Pension Insurance Act (amended State Gazette issue 65, 1999; issues 110 and 11, 1999; issue 1, 2000):

1. Art. 12, paragraph 1 shall be amended as follows”“Art. 12 (1) Pension Insurance Copmanies shall be joint-stock companies licensed pursuant to the present Law and registered under the Commercial Act.”2. Art. 33, paragraph 7, item 1, the word “granting” shall be followed by the word “denial”3. Art. 38, paragraph 1a) item 1 shall be repealedb) the words “court ruling” in art. 3 shall be deleted.4. The following amendments shall be made to art. 4 of the Transition and Final Provisions:a) The present text shall become paragraph 1;b) paragraph 2 shall be introduced:“2) The existing companies under paragraph 1 apart from the documents under art. 38, paragraph 1 shall enclose with the license applications also copies of the court decisions on their registration and consecutive changes entered in the register.”§ 42. For the year 2000, the deadline under art. 140, paragraph 3 shall be December 31.§ 43. Paragraphs 3, 23 and 37of the present Act shall be enacted as of August 1, 2000§ 44. Paragraph 6, item3 and art. 14, 20 and 40 of the present act shall be enacted as of January 1, 2001.The Amendment Act was adopted by the XXXVIII National Assembly on July 21, 2000 and was stamped with the official stamp of the National Assembly.For the Parliamentary ChairmanIvan Kourtev

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