Bulgaria Tightens Pension Oversight and Disability Pension Controls

The Bulgarian Parliament has tasked the State Audit Office with a comprehensive audit of pension payments for 2020‑2026, aiming to assess past spending and improve future fiscal planning. At the same time, the government proposes stricter rules for granting disability pensions, giving medical commissions access to electronic health records to verify the validity of claims and allowing the NOĪ to challenge or return decisions that appear based on false documentation.

The reforms are part of the 2026 state social insurance budget, which projects the average pension at €543.46, raises the minimum pension to €347.51, and allocates €13.5 billion for pension disbursements. These measures seek to curb rising pension costs, improve targeting of benefits, and sustain the pension system amid demographic challenges.