The required years of service for retirement in Bulgaria will start going up by four months per year, beginning January 1, 2012, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, announced.
In an interview for the TV channel Nova Televizia Sunday evening, Borisov read what he vowed to be the final plan of the cabinet for retirement reform, which is to be voted on Wednesday by the Council of Ministers.
The gradual increase of the years of service would continue to 2020 to reach 40 years for men and 37 for women.
After the increase of the years of service, the retirement age will begin going up in 2021 by six months per year to reach in 2024 65 for men and 63 for women.
"I listened to them all - trade unions, employers, financial experts. This is it. This is the decision," Borisov said, adding he had met over the weekend with Social Policy and Labor Minister, Totyu Mladenov, Finance Minister, Simeon Dyankov, and the Director of the National Social Security Institute (NOI), Hristina Mitreva.
The PM further stated he was to present what he called "the best retirement reform in Europe" to trade unions and employers on Monday.
According to Borisov, the new plan would help eliminate the deficit in the "Retirement" fund within NOI by 2017, and after that begin accumulating revenues.