Bulgaria to Give €61 Christmas Bonus to Over Half a Million Pensioners Below Poverty Line

The Bulgarian government has approved a 120 leva (€61) Christmas bonus for pensioners living below the poverty line. This payment will be distributed alongside December pensions to approximately 536,000 beneficiaries.

A total of 64.32 million leva (€32.5 million) will be transferred to the budget of the National Social Security Institute (NSI) to cover the cost of the holiday payments. This year, the official poverty line is set at 638 leva (€323), meaning roughly one in four pensioners will receive the bonus.

Borislav Gutsanov, speaking after the Cabinet meeting, emphasized that the 120 leva payment will be granted to all pensioners below the poverty threshold. He also indicated that the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is working on legislation to formalize Christmas and Easter bonuses in law, extending them beyond pensioners to include all vulnerable citizens. The law would also involve the National Revenue Agency to ensure proper implementation.

When asked about state sector salaries, Gutsanov noted that employees of the Social Assistance Agency earn around 1,600–1,700 leva (€810–€860), while salaries in the Labor Inspectorate reach 2,200–2,300 leva (€1,110–€1,160). He refrained from commenting on salaries in the Ministry of Law Enforcement, stating that not all wages can be treated under a single benchmark.