The governments of Bulgaria and Canada have signed an agreement for social security that "guarantees" the pension rights of some 50 000 Bulgarian immigrants in the North American country.

The deal was signed in Canada by Bulgarian Labor and Social Policy Minister Totyu Mladenov and Canadian Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley, the press service of the Bulgarian Labor Ministry reported.

Under the agreement, the authorities of Bulgaria and Canada will sum up the periods that the respective individuals work in each of these countries in order to determine the right to a retirement pension.

The pension allocated by Canada will be based on the period in which the respective person made social security payments in Canada, while the pension allocated by Bulgaria will be based on the social security payment period in Bulgaria proven with the respective documents, the Ministry explained.

Thus, the Bulgarian immigrants in Canada will be getting two pensions – Canadian and Bulgarian – commensurate with the periods in which they made social security payments in the respective country.

In the event of a dispute as to where a certain individual had social security rights in any of the countries, final decisions are to be made by Bulgaria's National Social Security Institute and the International Operations Service of the Canadian Ministry of Human Resources and Skills Development.

The newly signed pension rights agreement between Bulgaria and Canada is expected to enter into force in the second half of 2013.