Roughly one in five Bulgarians is over the age of 65, making Bulgaria the country with the most aging population in the EU, World Bank representative Florian Fichtl reported.

Fichtl, the permanent representative for the WB in Bulgaria, spoke at a conference in Sofia to mark the 10th anniversary of the start of pension reform in the country. According to him the pension reforms should proceed with decisions that provide adequate pensions to people, but without risking macroeconomic stability.

Fichtl continued that in 2025 the number of Bulgarians of working age will be 1,5 million fewer than in 2000. He stated that widespread early retirement schemes and a lower retirement age than in other countries would hamper pension reforms.

He concluded that a decrease in national insurance contributions due to the crisis had affected the stability of the state budget.

Meanwhile, Social Minister Totyu Mladenov supported the creation of job opportunities for retirees to help them remain active, but according to him in 200 000 pensioners on work contracts during a crisis deprive a number of young people from jobs.

Mladenov also backed the government's plan for civil servants to start paying their own insurance contributions.

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