Social security in Australia

A total of 89,328,030 euros will be disbursed to 80,380 beneficiaries from March 11 to 15 as part of the scheduled payments of Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information (e-ΕFΚΑ) and the Public Employment Service (DYPA).

With the start of the new year, several significant changes and regulations have come into effect across Bulgaria, impacting various aspects of daily life and welfare.

1. Minimum Wage Increase: The minimum wage sees a substantial hike, climbing from BGN 780 to BGN 933 (EUR 476), resulting in a net pay of BGN 723.99 after deductions.

The Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) has planned for successive payments before Christmas to 2.5 million pensioners, in order to pay all the beneficiaries without exception, both the January pension with an integrated increase of 3%, as well as the personal difference allowance, to those who are not entitled to a raise.

Four support measures (Youth Pass, heating allowance, fuel for farmers, and one-off pensioner aid) are being implemented between now and Christmas, supporting vulnerable social groups and young people, while another is planned for vulnerable households if budget conditions allow.

Social security agency EFKA is allowing non-salaried professionals and businesses affected by wildfires not to pay their social security contributions for six months and no compound interest will be charged once they resume payments. 

The Bulgarian Parliament finally approved the 2023 Budget in a meeting that started at 9 a.m. yesterday and lasted almost 21 hours.

The financial framework is calculated at a deficit of three percent - on an accrual basis, with the preservation of a large part of the originally proposed capital program.

Over 50% of supplementary pension applications that had been pending for years have been issued within the past two months, while the remaining almost 50% of pensioners still waiting are expected to receive their pension advance by the middle of next week, with an extraordinary lump-sum payment from the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA). 

The social security contributions of 1.2 million freelancers, self-employed and farmers will increase retroactively from the start of the year by 9.6%.

Labor and Social Security Minister Kostis Hatzidakis announced on Friday a possible new intervention next month for pensioners who, due to the so-called "personal difference," did not see an increase in the final amount they receive.

Fathers in Bulgaria will now be entitled to paid leave of two months until the child reaches the age of 8 - this is provided by changes in the Labor Code, which are published for public discussion on the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The leave will be used all at once or in parts. Adoptive parents will have the same right to two months' leave.