The standard of living in our country is only 62% of the EU average, according to Eurostat data
The increase in pensions outpaced the growth of wages in the country. For the last ten years (for the period 2014 – 2023), pension income in household budgets has grown 2.8 times.
For the same period, the growth of income from wages was 2.3 times. This was announced by the National Statistical Institute (NSI).
But this does not automatically mean that being a pensioner is better than working, because they raise the pension more than the salary. Because of the Swiss pension indexation rule used – with 50% of inflation and 50% of the growth of the average insurable income, old pensions lag behind wages in the country in periods of low inflation and economic growth combined with increases in remuneration.
The new pensions granted are higher than the old pensions and so the incomes of people who retired many years ago are lagging behind. The raising of the minimum pension played a significant role in the increase in pension income in recent years, “Trud” specifies.
The record inflation in 2022 hit the pocket of most Bulgarians. Wage increases at some firms have offset and even outpaced this record inflation, but at others wage increases have lagged behind. But over a long period of time, it turns out that income growth significantly outstrips inflation.
In 2023, the average annual income per person will be BGN 10,846 and will increase by 20.4% compared to 2022, NSI announced. The average income per person per month is BGN 904. Over the last ten years (2014 – 2023), the average income per person has increased 2.3 times.
And if we take into account the impact of inflation, NSI data show that in 2023 real incomes increased by 10% compared to 2022. And for a 10-year period, the real increase in incomes was 58.5%.
This is how we approach the standard of living in economically more developed countries. But incomes in the leading EU countries are catching up too slowly.
The latest Eurostat data show that the gross domestic product per capita, according to purchasing power and taking into account the price levels in different countries, in Bulgaria is only 62% of the average level for EU countries.
As for this indicator, we are in last place in the EU. Which shows that the standard of living in our country is only 62% of the EU average.
Wages have the largest share of families’ money. Wages provide 54.8% of household income, according to NSI data for 2023. In the last 10 years, the share of wages from the total amount of income has not changed significantly.
The second largest source of household income is pensions. The share of pensions in household budgets increases from 25.8% in 2014 to 31.8% in 2023.
This is due to the pre-emptive increase in pension income relative to the rise in wages. 2023 is an exception to the general trend in recent years – last year, income from wages in household budgets grew by 22.5%, and income from pensions – by 13.6%.
If we add the other social benefits and benefits (unemployment benefits, family allowances for children and other social benefits) to pensions, it turns out that 33.9% of household money comes from the state budget.
