The Financial Supervision Commission adopted on a second vote an Ordinance on the technical interest rates under Art. 169, para. 1, item 3 and para. 8, item 3 of the Social Insurance Code and the formulas for calculating the supplementary lifelong old-age pensions after a repeated public consultation.

With the Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021), regulating the payment of pensions for insurance in a universal pension fund, the legislator instructed the Financial Supervision Commission to determine by ordinance the formulas for their calculation, as well as the requirements to the technical interest rates for determining their amount and the pensions from the occupational pension funds.

The formulas for calculating the supplementary lifelong old-age pensions provided for in the ordinance are based on established provisions in actuarial science and practice. Defining uniform formulas for pensions from universal pension funds ensures the same way of calculating the pensions of all persons, regardless of the fund in which they are insured. The formulas provided in the ordinance make it possible to determine the amount of the pension on the basis of the transferred gross contributions or on the basis of the higher amount of funds in the individual account in accordance with the possibilities provided by law. Regardless of the chosen type of guarantee for determining the initial amount of the pension, all funds on the individual account of the person at the time of concluding the pension contract are taken into account. The formulas also allow, depending on the agreement between the pensioner and the pension insurance company, that the pension be determined both at the time of concluding the pension contract and from an earlier or later time (e.g. from the moment of acquiring the right to a pension or from at a later date if the pensioner wishes to continue working after the conclusion of the pension contract). The regulation of the formulas in a regulatory act provides clarity and legal certainty in the relations between the pension insurance companies and the pensioners, facilitates the future pensioners in planning their income after retirement and increases the transparency and trust in the activity of supplementary pension insurance.

When calculating the amount of pensions, a technical interest rate is used, which reflects the expectations for the return on investment of pensioners’ funds. The specific amount of the technical interest rate is determined by each pension insurance company in compliance with the prescribed regulatory requirements and is approved by the Financial Supervision Commission. The ordinance requires pension insurance companies to adhere to the precautionary principle when determining the specific amounts of technical interest rates in order to reduce the risk of shortage of funds for future payments, as adopted in actuarial practice. According to the legal delegation, the ordinance also regulates the maximum amounts of technical interest rates. In this regard, it is envisaged that the technical interest rate for determining the supplementary lifelong old-age pension may not be higher than the long-term interest rate for assessing the degree of convergence published by the Bulgarian National Bank (average for the last seven years). The indicator used is determined on the basis of the yield on long-term government securities, which according to the Social Insurance Code must be taken into account when determining the technical interest rate. With regard to pensions from occupational pension funds, the same indicator was used to set the maximum technical interest rate, setting a wider range (150 per cent of the long-term interest rate for assessing the degree of convergence) given the differences in their activities and investments. In both cases, the technical interest rate may not be less than zero.

 At its meeting held on 15.06.2021, the Financial Supervision Commission decided under Protocol No. 42 of 15.06.2021 to conduct examinations for acquiring the right to exercise activity as a broker of financial instruments and as an investment adviser and set dates for these examinations on 25.09.2021 (Saturday) and 26.09.2021 (Sunday), respectively, approved the Procedure for conducting examinations for acquiring the right to exercise activity as a broker of financial instruments or as an investment adviser, Thematic syllabus for the examination for acquiring the right to exercise activity as a broker of financial instruments and Thematic syllabus for the examination for acquiring the right to exercise activity as an investment adviser. The syllabi and the procedure for conducting examinations for acquiring the right to exercise activity as a broker of financial instruments or as an investment adviser are published on the official website of the Financial Supervision Commission, in the section “Supervised persons”, “Legal capacity examinations”, “Examinations for broker of financial instruments and investment adviser”.

We draw the attention of the candidates that at a meeting of the FSC on 27.05.2021 a new Ordinance No. 7 on the procedure for acquisition, recognition and revocation of legal capacity of brokers of financial instruments and investment advisers was adopted, which repeals the current Ordinance No. 7.

Templates of applications for admission to the examination and of the required declarations have been prepared as appendices to the new Ordinance No. 7. The persons who wish to acquire the right to exercise activity as a broker of financial instruments and / or as an investment adviser, according to Art. 10, para. 1 of Ordinance No. 7 shall submit applications for admission to an examination according to a template with the content under Art. 10, para. 2 of Ordinance No. 7 in the office of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) or online at delovodstvo@fsc.bg. The documents according to Art. 10, para. 3 of Ordinance № 7, which are explicitly indicated in the template need to be attached to the application.

Templates of applications for admission to examinations and the required declarations are available on the FSC website.

The documents for the examinations, which will be held on 25 September 2021 (Saturday) and 26 September 2021 (Sunday), are submitted in the period from 21 June 2021 (Monday) to 16 August 2021 (Monday) inclusive.

The application must indicate the e-mail address to which messages on the open procedure for admission to the examination will be sent.

Applications for admission to the examination for acquiring the right to exercise activity as a broker of financial instruments or as an investment adviser, submitted after the announced deadline for submission of applications for admission to the upcoming examinations will not be considered.

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote a draft Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 63 of 8 November 2018 on the requirements for the content, periodicity of preparation and deadlines for submission of reports for supervisory purposes of pension insurance companies and the funds managed by them. The project aims to comply with the amendments made to the Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021).

Art. 185 of the Social Insurance Code stipulates that the requirements for the content, periodicity of preparation and deadlines for submission of reports for supervisory purposes of the payment funds are regulated by an ordinance of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC). In this regard, the draft ordinance provides for the creation of templates of monthly and annual reports for the payments funds of lifelong pensions and the payment funds, which are submitted to the FSC. The reports are expected to be submitted within the same deadlines as the reports for supervisory purposes of the pension insurance companies and the supplementary pension funds. The adopted approach is to present the reports to the supervisory body in electronic form, signed with a qualified electronic signature, through an electronic portal maintained by the FSC. In accordance with the amendments to the SIC, the current models of reports for supervisory purposes have been updated.

The draft and the reasons for it are published on the website of the Financial Supervision Commission in the section Regulations, subsection Public Consultations, and the deadline for submitting comments and proposals on the draft is 14 days from its publication until 29.06.2021 inclusive.

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote a draft Ordinance to amend and supplement Ordinance No. 31 of 02.08.2006 on the terms and procedure for conducting an examination and for recognizing the legal capacity of a responsible actuary, for recognizing the legal capacity acquired outside the Republic of Bulgaria, for the form of the actuarial certification, the form and content of the actuarial report and the references under the Insurance Code which the responsible actuary certifies, as well as for the form and mandatory content of the annual actuarial report under the Social Insurance Code, in order to bring it in line with the changes made with the Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021).

The ordinance updates the requirements to the annual actuarial report for each supplementary pension fund and its annexes in view of the changes in the legal level, providing for the payment of supplementary lifelong old-age pensions and deferred payments in case of acquired pension rights to be made by separate payment funds, not from universal pension funds. In connection with the establishment of the funds for payment of lifelong pensions and the funds for deferred payments, the obligatory content of the actuarial reports prepared for these funds is regulated. This provides the necessary information on the state of the payment funds and ensures their proper functioning to meet the obligations to pensioners, persons receiving deferred payments and their heirs and the supervision of this activity.

The draft and the reasons for it are published on the website of the Financial Supervision Commission in the section Regulations, subsection Public Consultations, and the deadline for submitting comments and proposals on the draft is 14 days from its publication until 29.06.2021 inclusive.

 The Social Insurance Supervision Department of the Financial Supervision Commission announced the results of the change of participation and transfer of funds of insured persons from one to another respective pension fund for the first quarter of 2021. The data were obtained on the basis of reports submitted by pension insurance companies to the Financial Supervision Commission.

In the first quarter of 2021, a total of 86,285 applications for change of participation and transfer of funds from one pension fund to another were submitted to the pension insurance companies.

A total of 74,471 insured persons from the applications submitted in the first quarter of 2021 have changed their participation in the supplementary pension insurance funds. The total amount of the funds transferred to another pension fund of the respective type is BGN 280,877,588.

Results of the change in the participation and transfer of funds from one to another respective pension fund for the first quarter of 2021 are available in section: Social Insurance activity / Statistics / Statistics and analysis / 2021.

For the period 01.05.2021 – 31.05.2021 no notifications were received from the competent authorities of EU Member States regarding the intention of insurance companies based in EU Member States to operate on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the terms of freedom to provide services or the right of establishment or notifications regarding the withdrawal of the intention to carry out insurance activity on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

As of the end of May 2021, the number of insurance companies based in other EU and EEA Member States which have notified the FSC of their intention to operate on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the principle of freedom to provide services, remains 427 (six hundred and twenty-seven).

During the same period, the FSC received notifications regarding the intention of 16 (sixteen) insurance intermediaries based in EU Member States to carry out insurance intermediation activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the terms of freedom to provide services, as well as 5 (five) notification for termination of the activity of insurance mediation on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the terms of the freedom to provide services.

As of 31.05.2020, the insurance intermediaries based in Member States that have stated their intention to carry out insurance intermediation activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the terms of freedom to provide services or the right of establishment (through a branch) are 2,282 (two thousand two hundred and seventy-one).

During the period 01.05.2021 – 31.05.2021, the FSC has not sent any notifications to the competent supervisory authorities of EU Member States regarding the intention of insurers based in the Republic of Bulgaria to operate on their territory under the terms of freedom to provide services or notifications of withdrawal of the intention of an insurer based in the Republic of Bulgaria to carry out insurance activity on the territory of another Member State.

As of the end of May 2021, the total number of insurance companies based in the Republic of Bulgaria which have stated their intention to carry out insurance activities on the territory of other EU Member States under the terms of freedom to provide services, remains 18.

For the period 01.05.2021 – 31.05.2021 the FSC has not sent notifications to the competent supervisory authorities of the EU Member States about the intention of insurance intermediaries to operate on the territory of another Member State under the terms of freedom to provide services or the right of establishment.

At the end of the period, the total number of insurance intermediaries based in the Republic of Bulgaria which declared their intention to carry out insurance intermediation activities in the territory of EU Member States under the terms of freedom to provide services or the right of establishment, remains 52 (fifty two) intermediaries.

The updated lists of notifications are available on the FSC website in the section “Supervised entities” – “Notifications”.

The official ceremony of awarding the winners in the 10th edition of the National Audit Competition for Students “Young Auditor” 2021 took place on 9 June 2021 in the hall of the Higher School of Insurance and Finance (VUZF).

The aim of the competition is to promote the audit profession among young people in Bulgaria, as well as to emphasize the role of audit in the business community and society as a whole.

The ceremony was opened by the Rector of VUZF Assoc. Prof. Dr. Grigory Vazov, who thanked the organizers and partners of the competition for the perseverance and energy with which they have been holding this event for 10 years. “Without auditors, public and corporate life in Bulgaria and in the world is impossible. These are some of the most important and qualified people, and to become an auditor is a difficult endeavour that requires a lot of courage and effort, so I congratulate all students who have set out on this path,” said in his address the rector of VUZF Assoc. Prof. Vazov.

On behalf of the Chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission, Mr. Boyko Atanasov, a greeting was given by Ms. Diana Yordanova, Deputy Chairperson of the FSC, Head of the Social Insurance Supervision Department. They congratulated the entire organizing committee of the competition on the occasion of the 10th anniversary. In addition, they wished the organizing committee to continue to create traditions in education, “because this is one of the highest missions, thanks to which students open the door to themselves and others in intellectual and spiritual terms in the process of becoming full-fledged people and individuals. Education is more than learning, education is the attitude, the relationship with the world. It is gained through the acquisition of knowledge and values, with the help of which we interpret the world.”

Welcoming speeches for the jubilee edition of the competition included Mrs. Veronika Revalska, Manager of HLB Bulgaria, Mr. Tsvetan Tsvetkov, Chairperson of the National Audit Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, His Excellency Archimandrite Pahomiy, Rector of Sofia Theological Seminary “St. Ivan Rilski”.

The first place in the Young Auditor competition in 2021 was awarded to Artur Torosyan, a student at VUZF. He received a cash prize of BGN 2,000, provided by the auditing companies HLB Bulgaria and Zaharinova Nexia, for financing higher education in Bulgaria and the opportunity for a one-month internship in one of the audit companies organizing the competition. . The award was presented by Ms. Menda Stoyanova, Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Committee on Budget and Finance in the 44th National Assembly.

The second place in the competition went to Gabriela Ivanova, a student at VUZF. She received a scholarship of BGN 1,000, provided by the Commission for Public Oversight of Registered Auditors, for higher education in the country and the opportunity for a one-month internship in the audit companies HLB Bulgaria or Zaharinova Nexia. The award was presented by Prof. Dr. Ognyan Simeonov, Chairperson of CPORA.

The third place went to Aleksandar Shargov from Moldova, a student at UNWE. He won a scholarship of BGN 500, provided by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, for higher education in Bulgaria and also the opportunity for a one-month internship in one of the two audit companies. His award was presented by Mr. Boyko Kostov, Chairperson of ICPA.

The three winners also received special plaques.

At the ceremony 2 special prizes were awarded for participants with the most original ideas in solving cases. Elena Tarakova from UNWE won an annual scholarship in the amount of 15% of the tuition fee for the specialties in the master’s degree at VUZF. Her award was presented by the Rector of VUZF Assoc. Prof. Dr. Grigory Vazov. The second special award was presented to Damyana Yaneva, University of Economics – Varna by Mr. Tsvetan Tsvetkov, Chairperson of the National Audit Office.

A special greeting to the participants in the competition was given by the finalist and winner of the first edition of the Young Auditor Competition 2012 – Dr. Kiril Bashikarov, a graduate of VUZF, who 10 years later is a member of the faculty of the university. He congratulated the winners and participants in this year’s edition of the competition, emphasizing that his participation in this competition has boosted his professional development and career in one of the largest audit companies.

The organizers of the competition are VUZF and the auditing companies HLB Bulgaria and Zaharinova Nexia. The main partners of the competition are the National Audit Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Commission for Public Oversight of Registered Auditors (CPORA) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Bulgaria (ICPA).

This year more than 80 students from 9 universities in the country took part in the competition, including the Higher School of Insurance and Finance (VUZF), Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, University of National and World Economy (UNWE), Academy of Economics “D. A. Tsenov ”- Svishtov, University of Economics – Varna, Southwestern University “Neofit Rilski”, University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski”, VFU “Chernorizets Hrabar ”, Academy of Economic Research – Bucharest.

Forty competitors managed to reach the second stage, taking a test. Those who passed the test with more than 50% correct answers were admitted to the third stage – solving a case.

The Financial Supervision Commission adopted at the second vote an Ordinance on the reserves of pension insurance companies to guarantee the gross amount of contributions to universal pension funds.

The Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021), which introduces the regulation on the payment of pensions from universal pension funds, provides a mechanism for guaranteeing the gross insurance contributions of the persons insured in these funds. In particular, before the payment of a pension or a one-off or deferred payment in case of acquired pension rights from a universal pension fund, the individual account of the insured person is supplemented by the gross amount of insurance contributions reported by the National Revenue Agency and the National Social Security Institute. In order to implement the guarantee mechanism provided by law, the legislator delegated to the Financial Supervision Commission to determine by ordinance the requirements for the formation, calculation and maintenance of reserves of pension insurance companies to guarantee gross contributions, replenishment of reserves to the required amount and release of funds from them.

In this regard, the ordinance regulates the procedure for each pension insurance company establishing a reserve for guaranteeing gross contributions, requiring this to be done by the end of the month in which the first contribution to the universal pension fund was received, according to the latest information at that time (the fund’s net asset value on the last business day of the specified month). The allocation of funds to cover the reserve is made on the day of its creation. Similarly, the current recalculation of the reserve, its replenishment and release of funds from it are carried out at the end of the month for which the recalculation is made, based on the net asset value of the universal pension fund on the last working day of this month. The procedure for formation and recalculation of the reserve for guaranteeing the gross contributions regulated in the draft ensures its current adjustment in accordance with the legal requirements and parameters.

The Ordinance also amends Ordinance No. 12 of 10 December 2003 on the manner and procedure for determining the minimum return on asset management of supplementary mandatory pension insurance funds, to cover the difference to the minimum return and for the formation and use of the reserves for guaranteeing the minimum return, which are aimed at harmonizing and synchronizing with the regulation of the reserve for guaranteeing gross contributions and the amendments to the Social Insurance Code.

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote a draft Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 9 of 19 November 2003 on the manner and procedure for assessing the assets and liabilities of the supplementary pension funds and the pension insurance company, the net asset value of the fund, for calculating and declaring the value of one unit, for calculating and comparing the return on investment property and for the requirements for keeping individual accounts in order to comply with the changes made by the Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021).

The draft ordinance regulates the methods for valuation of financial instruments in which the funds of the payment funds may be invested, and provides for the valuation to be carried out in accordance with the principles adopted for valuation of the same types of instruments in which the supplementary pension insurance funds can invest.

The draft ordinance regulates how the net asset value of a payment fund is determined and introduces the requirements for keeping the analytical accounts of the persons in a deferred payment fund. The scope and structure of the information to be contained in these accounts, including the transactions to be reflected in it, have been determined.

Other changes to the ordinance have been proposed in order to bring it into line with the amendments to the Social Insurance Code.

The draft and the reasons for it are published on the website of the Financial Supervision Commission in the section Regulations, subsection Public Consultations, and the deadline for submitting comments and proposals on the draft is 14 days from its publication until 24.06.2021 inclusive.

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote a draft Ordinance No. 10 on the requirements for the solvency margin and own funds of the pension insurance company, its recovery program and the minimum liquid assets of the company and the funds managed by it.

With the Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021) significant changes have been made in the regulation of the payment of pensions from the universal pension funds and the related requirements to the capital of the pension insurance companies, according to the law, a number of these requirements should be developed or fully regulated by an ordinance of the Financial Supervision Commission.

The draft ordinance regulates the structure and the elements of the own funds of the pension insurance companies according to their purpose for covering the solvency margin. The fact that these funds serve as an additional guarantee for the fulfilment of the obligations for the payment of additional lifelong old-age pensions and deferred payments implies that the elements that make them up include only the funds that are reflected in the financial statements and are fully available to the respective company for use without restrictions to cover operating losses. In view of the purpose of own funds covering the solvency margin, they are offset by intangible assets that cannot be used to meet liabilities, accumulated losses, expected costs, etc.

The technical requirements in connection with the calculation of the solvency margin, which according to the Social Insurance Code is determined on the basis of the capitalized value of pensions and deferred payments with assumed guarantees, are regulated in detail. According to actuarial science, this value is determined on the basis of the present value of the commitments for these payments. In order to take into account the most recent mortality data and investment performance expectations, the mortality table published by the National Statistical Institute and the technical interest rate set by the pension insurance company as of the date of the pension or deferred payment calculation are used to determine this value.

Given the purpose of own funds covering the solvency margin of the pension insurance company, the ordinance requires them to be invested by it with the care of a good trader in compliance with the principles of quality, reliability, liquidity, profitability and diversification. The diversification of investments is also ensured through specific quantitative restrictions on the respective categories of instruments and investments in one issuer, explicitly specified in the Social Insurance Code.

The ordinance develops the requirements for the liquid assets of the pension insurance company and the funds managed by it, so as to ensure its ability to meet its current and expected obligations. The changes in the payment of the funds from the universal pension funds have been taken into account where after concluding a pension contract or a deferred payment contract the payment is not made by the pension fund, and the funds in the individual account of the person are transferred to the payment fund. In view of this, with regard to universal pension funds, it is required to maintain liquid assets, which, in addition to current liabilities, also take into account the funds transferred to the payment funds in the previous month.

The ordinance also regulates the requirements to the recovery programs of the pension insurance companies on the basis of the current regulation, adapted in accordance with the changes at the legal level. In connection with the amendments to the Social Insurance Code, the ordinance also updates the provisions of Ordinance No. 17 of 7.07.2004 on the documents required for issuing a permit for transformation of a pension insurance company and a supplementary pension insurance fund and on the requirements to the plans under Art. 327, para. 1, item 3 and Art. 336, para. 1 of the Social Insurance Code.

The draft and the reasons for it are published on the website of the Financial Supervision Commission in the section Regulations, subsection Public Consultations, and the deadline for submitting comments and proposals on the draft is 14 days from its publication until 24.06.2021 inclusive.