The minimum income scheme reform aims to improve the adequacy and coverage of the minimum income scheme in Bulgaria.
As a first step of the reform, Bulgaria adopted legislative amendments in 2021, which provide for the gradual increase of the minimum income thresholds for all potential beneficiaries of the minimum income scheme until 2024.
The next step was publication at the end of 2022 of a report by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies assessing the minimum income scheme and recommending how to:
- expand its effective coverage;
- enhance its targeting;
- incentivise the take-up of gainful employment;
- improve linked activation measures through the PES;
- reduce the administrative burden for the individuals.
The third stage of the reform provides for adoption of a Social Support Code.
It shall address the fragmentation of the current legislation in the area of social benefits, services and support by codifying the relevant legislation.
It will introduce automatic annual updates of the minimum income thresholds based on the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, changes to the eligibility criteria of the minimum income scheme and legislative amendments to define and improve the activation of the economically inactive persons.
The reform also shall result in an increase of the number of individuals receiving the monthly minimum income support from 63518 in 2020 to 116873 at the end of 2024.
Additional links:
- Reference
- C11.R1 in the Bulgarian Recovery and Resilience Plan
- Project locations
- Bulgaria
- Project website
- reforma-na-sistemata-za-minimalen-dokhod