'Piggy Bank of Power': Opposition Party Stages Symbolic Display Ahead of Budget Vote in Bulgaria

The youth wing of opposition party "We Continue the Change" (WCC) set up a large piggy bank display on "Nezavisimost" Square in Sofia on Thursday, placing it directly in front of the National Assembly as lawmakers prepare to move through key budget votes. Parliament is expected to approve the NHIF and State Social Security drafts at first reading during today’s sitting, while the main central budget will be taken up on Friday. The installation, positioned at the heart of the Largo, was intended as a visual protest on the eve of discussions surrounding next year’s financial plan.

The oversized pink figure was marked as a reference to Budget 2026, which WCC leader and MP Asen Vassilev has urged lawmakers to reject, arguing that it has not gone through the Tripartite Council and lacks the approval of social partners. Vassilev said the proposal would effectively take 600 leva a year from every working citizen. The party shared images and a video from the site, writing that something was unfolding on the square as the mock piggy bank was set in place outside Parliament.

Party members described the prop as a warning about what they believe the budget represents. Vassilev called it a symbol of a plan that would act as a large state controlled savings pot fed by ordinary Bulgarians. Former WCC co chair Kiril Petkov added that citizens should not be reduced to the role of a country defined by a piggy bank, saying Bulgaria belongs among free nations with stronger institutions and a different outlook.

Inside the National Assembly, lawmakers are set to examine the 2026 State Social Security Budget Act and the National Health Insurance Fund Budget Act at first reading. These two drafts lead Thursday’s agenda and have been prepared in euros for the first time. The SSS proposal includes a two percentage point rise in the contribution to the Pensions Fund. It also sets the minimum insurance threshold for self insured individuals at 620.20 euros from January 1, 2026, while the maximum threshold for all insured persons rises to 2,352 euros.

Support for families is also scheduled to increase. The allowance for raising a child up to two years old, as well as the benefit granted to fathers or adoptive parents for children up to eight years old, will go up from 398.81 euros to 460.17 euros at the start of 2026. Several other payments related to pregnancy and childbirth leave, adoption of children up to five years old and child raising for young children will be adjusted to reach between 50 and 75 percent of the income used during the leave period.

Pensions will be updated from July 1, 2026 under the Swiss rule, with early estimates pointing to an increase between seven and eight percent. The draft also raises the minimum pension for length of service and age from 322.37 to 346.87 euros, while keeping the ceiling for all pensions received at 1,738.40 euros, the same level as in 2025. The NHIF budget for next year foresees revenues and expenses 727,652,900 euros higher than in the current year, equal to a 15 percent rise in funds. The eight percent health insurance contribution remains unchanged. A new element in the plan is the transfer of 260 million euros from the central budget to cover medical staff remuneration.

According to Health Committee chairman Kostadin Angelov, 30 million euros from this package will go toward salary growth for people employed in secondary budget spending units within the Ministry of Health, with the remaining 230 million euros allocated to workers in state, regional and municipal hospitals. The planned adjustments for those employed in emergency care centers, psychiatric hospitals, regional health inspectorates and other units funded directly by the Health Ministry aim to secure pay levels equal to 150 percent of the average gross salary for doctors and 125 percent of the average gross salary for healthcare professionals. Angelov added that starting salaries will be specified through amendments in the Law on Medical Institutions and delivered as targeted subsidies to ensure hospitals can provide the planned increases.