Personal finance

The National Assembly has passed a much-needed bill on long-term care, determining the scope of services to be provided by the state and introducing a new contribution to finance them. It will be paid by employers, employees and pensioners.

The Labor Ministry is bringing significant changes to the digital work card, as well as providing incentives to speed up its use by businesses.

Its objectives remain the containment of undeclared labor and transparency in terms of employment, but ways are being sought to limit the bureaucratic hurdles that often make it difficult to properly implement the measure.

Slovenia does not intend to increase the retirement age to make the pension system more sustainable, instead it plans to offer incentives so that people keep working longer, but higher contributions and a new tax are also on the table, according to a Labour Ministry blueprint for pension reform released on 11 July.

A fairer system envisaging a more proportionate burden on working pensioners, so that the declaration of employment is not a disincentive, is expected to be announced in Parliament on Thursday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the context of the presentation of his government's program.

The government has adopted a bill on long-term care that determines the scope of long-term care services the state plans to provide, and introduces a new contribution to finance services that will be paid by employers and employees.

Almost 1,200 pension applications are being processed per day by the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA), while last month, according to data from the Labor Ministry's Helios database, almost 30,000 new pensions were paid out.

Bulgarian deputies finally accepted the extension of the three main budgets - of the state, of social security and of the Health Fund.

Agencies at the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) are running two parallel projects, in addition to the issuance of the pending pensions: main, auxiliary and retirement lump sums.

After pretending to hire a group of unemployed people with high wages in contract companies, an illegal gang that have taken loans on behalf of the victims have made a profit of 500 million Turkish Liras ($25.8 million).

The additional amount to pensions of BGN 70 (EUR 35), with which to provide Easter supplements for Bulgarian pensioners, will begin today.

Pensioners who receive their pensions through post offices will be able to receive the additional amount from them as well. The rest will receive a transfer within the month.