Bulgaria cannot avoid a significant retirement reform and by mid-May the cabinet will propose to the labor unions and the employers its reform program, Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, informs.

Djankov, who is attending the informal meeting of EU finance ministers in the Spanish capital Madrid, spoke Saturday in a phone interview for Darik radio, saying that Bulgaria is one of the very few EU countries with too many exceptions for early retirement and large groups of people stopping work too early, according to the European criteria.

The Minister pointed out early retirement in the military and the police force is as significant of a topic and issue as is increasing the retirement age for the entire population.

According to Djankov, together with Prime Minister, Boyko Boriosv, they are firmly decided to carry out the retirement reform, adding that this has been one of the most discussed topics in Madrid.

“Germany already has it, Poland is introducing a reform since the beginning of the year, while in the Netherlands the retirement law became effective this Friday, France has a retirement reform as well. Bulgaria cannot avoid it either, so we better get organized now to escape being again the last ones in the reform sector,” Djankov said.

The Director of the National Social Security Institute, Hristina Mitreva, further told Darik that the cabinet will propose 3 versions of the retirement reform.

Mitreva only presented one of them because it is the plan supported by her Institute. This program provides for a gradual increase of the required years of service from 34 to 37 years for women and 37 to 40 years for men. The retirement age is to remain the same as the current one – 60 for women and 63 for men while those who did not serve the required years will receive lower pensions.

The cabinet of the ruling Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party put on the table the idea for a retirement reform as soon as they came into power in the summer of 2009, but decided to postpone it over the deepening economic crisis.