Who is covered by the Voluntary Pension Fund (VPF)?
Supplementary voluntary pension insurance aims to guarantee additional income for the years after retirement. This is the so-called third pillar of the pension system. The pension from the VPF is received separately from the one provided by the state and from the pensions from the additional obligatory pension insurance.
What give us the Voluntary Pension Fund?
The third pillar of the pension system is particularly relevant in the circumstances of negative or zero interest rates on bank deposits and declining returns on government securities investments in euro area member states, after the ECB announced a gradual reduction in stimulating purchases of sovereign debt. Due to these reasons, facing the growing needs of insured and saving people, we can better answer together a number of questions that life raises in today’s changing world. The third pillar is like a new home for your savings and should be invested regularly in order to reveal its potential and comfort.
Who can be insured in a Voluntary Pension Fund?
Any natural person who has reached the age of 16 may be insured voluntarily or in supplementary voluntary pension insurance funds. Beside personal, employers and agencies that are insurers, as well as other insurers can make contributions to the individual account.
The insurance in VPF is carried out on a capital-based principle. The insurance contributions and the return on their investment are accumulated on individual accounts of the insured persons.
How to join a Supplementary Voluntary Pension Fund?
Contributions to a person’s individual account at DallBogg: Life and Health may be monthly, for another period, or one-time. Insurance in the Pension Fund DallBogg: Life and Health is based on an insurance contract, which is concluded between the Pension Insurance Company DallBogg: Life and Health and:
- individuals – at their own expense
- employers who are insurers – for their employees
- agencies that are insurers – for:
- Government employees
- judges, prosecutors, investigators, state associated judges, registry judges and court clerks
- the servicemen under the Law on Defense and Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria, the civil servants under the Law on the Ministry of Interior and the civil servants under the Law on Execution of Punishments and Detention in Custody
- assignors who are insurers – for the persons for whom a contract for assignment of management or control has been concluded
- other insurers – individuals or legal entities – for the benefit of third parties.
Participation in a supplementary voluntary pension insurance fund starts from:
- the date of concluding an insurance contract for insurance with personal contributions
- the date of receipt of the written consent of a person in the pension insurance company, in whose favor an insurance contract has been concluded with contributions from an insurer or another insurer
- the transfer of the funds of an insured person to the voluntary pension fund from a respective fund managed by another pension insurance company.
The insurance in SPF “DallBogg: Life and Health” entitles to:
Personal old-age pension – for a certain period:
- The insured persons acquire the right to a personal old-age pension from the voluntary pension fund upon acquisition of the right to a pension for length-of-service insurance and age under Part I of SIC (Social Insurance Code). At the request of the insured person, the personal old-age pension may be paid upon reaching the age for acquiring the right to a pension for insurance length of service and age under Art. 68, para. 1 of SIC or up to five years before reaching this age by the person.
- The amount of the personal old-age pension depends on the amount accumulated on the individual account of the insured person as of the date of granting, on the chosen term for receiving the pension and on the technical interest rate approved by the FSC (Financial Supervision Commission).
Personal disability pension – for a certain period:
- The insured person acquires the right to a personal disability pension, in case of permanently reduced working capacity of 50 per cent and more – starting from the date when the disability beginns, determined in the expert decision of Proffessional or National Invalidity Committee (TELK ot NELK).
- The term of the personal disability pension is determined depending on the term of the disability, determined in the expert decision of TEMC or NEMC.
A survivor’s pension for a definite term of the heirs of an insured person or of a pensioner, or of the beneficiaries:
- The heirs or beneficiaries are specified in the contract. The pensioner to whom has been granted a supplementary pension in the pension contract, may specify one or more beneficiaries who are entitled to receive a survivor’s pension from the balance of the funds in his individual account, as well as the part due to them. Beneficieries can be determined or changed at any time.
One-off or deferred payment of the accumulated funds on the individual account or part of them to an insured person.
One-off or deferred payment of funds to the heirs of an insured person or a pensioner, or to the beneficiaries;
Right to transfer funds from one supplementary voluntary pension insurance fund to another respective:
- The insured person has the right to transfer the accumulated funds on the individual account to the voluntary pension fund or part of them to a respective fund managed by another pension insurance company, not more than once within one calendar year.
Right to withdraw and return of the accumulated funds:
- The insured person has the right to withdraw the funds accumulated in the individual account from personal insurance contributions at any time.
- Funds from contributions of an employer, insurance bodies or another insurer may be withdrawn or transferred to an appropriate fund managed by another pension insurance company, on the basis of the requirements and restrictions provided in the insurance contract and the Social Insurance Code.
Fees and deductions
In the management of the voluntary pension fund, the fees and deductions in favor of DallBogg: Life and Health are as follows:
- One-time initial fee:
- BGN 9 under an individual contract
- BGN 7 for each insured person under a contract with an employer or another insurer with up to 100 persons insured under the contract
- BGN 3 for each insured person under a contract with an employer or another insurer with insured under the contract from 101 to 4000 persons
- BGN 0 for each insured person under a contract with an employer or another insurer with over 4000 persons insured under the contract.
- when the insured person has conclude an individual contract and at the same time a contract has been concluded in his favor with an employer or another insurer, or when a contract with an employer and another insurer has been concluded for the benefit of the insured person, the initial fee is deducted as follows :
- when the amount of the due fee under the concluded employment contract or the contract with another insurer is lower than that under the individual contract – from the contribution at the expense of the employer or the other insurer
- in case of equal amount of the due fee under the concluded contracts with an employer or another insurer – from the employer’s contribution
- when the amount of the due fee under the concluded employer’s contract and the contract with another insurer is different – the lower of the two fees shall be applied, which shall be deducted from the respective contribution
- Initial fee is not charged to persons:
- who transfer their funds to the Fund from another voluntary pension fund in their individual account or in an individual account of a spouse or relatives in the direct line up to the second degree
- heirs who transfer the inherited funds to their individual accounts in the Fund
- in favor of which funds are transferred from the individual accounts of persons insured in the Fund.
- Investment fee in the amount of 7 percent of the realized income from investing the funds of the voluntary pension fund.
- Deduction from each insurance contribution:
- under an individual contract with an insured person and in case of a contract concluded in favor of the insured person with another insurer:
- for a contribution of up to BGN 40, including – 4.0 per cent
- for a contribution from BGN 40.01 to BGN 1,000 – 3.5 per cent
- for a contribution from BGN 1,000.01 to BGN 5,000 – 3.0 per cent
- for contributions over BGN 5,000.01 – 2.5 per cent.
- under a contract with an employer with the amount of the contribution to the tax preference – 3.20 per cent
- under a contract with an employer with the amount of the contribution to the tax preference, under an additional condition in the contract to make periodic contributions for a period of at least 24 months – 1.85 per cent
- under a contract with an employer with the amount of the contribution over the tax preference – 1.85 per cent
- under a contract with an employer depending on the number of insured persons:
- up to 1000 persons, including – 3.20 percent
- from 1001 to 2000 persons, including – 3.00 percent
- from 3001 to 4000 persons, including – 1.70 percent
- over 4000 persons – 0 percent.
- when the fee determined under items 2, 3 and 4 under a contract with an employer differs from the one determined under item 5, the lower one shall apply.
- No fee is collected on funds transferred from another voluntary pension fund.
- Fee in the amount of 10 percent of the withdrawn funds, but not more than BGN 20, for each withdrawal (fully or partially) of the accumulated funds on the individual account, before acquiring the right to a supplementary pension. The company does not deduct the fee in the following cases:
- in case of transfer of funds to spouse(s), relatives in the direct line of first and second degree in the Fund
- when the relationship with the Company is terminated
- when the heirs transfer the inherited amounts in individual accounts to the Fund.
- The withdrawal fee is not charged in the following cases:
- upon transformation or termination of the Company or the Fund
- by the heirs of a deceased insured person or pensioner.
Members of the Advisory Board of Voluntary Pension Fund „DallBogg: Life and Health“
Address for correspondence: One G.M. Dimitrov Blvd., 1172, Sofia, tel.: + 359 2 4026426, fax: + 359 2 9603703, e-mail: [email protected]
Biser Ivanov – Chairman of the Advisory Board
with address for correspondence: One G.M. Dimitrov Blvd., 1172, Sofia, tel.: + 359 2 4026426, fax: + 359 2 9603703, e-mail: [email protected]
Ivan Bogoev – Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Board
Lyuba Miteva-Vasileva – Member of the Advisory Board
Petya Moneva – Member of the Advisory Board
Adelina Zlatkova – Member of the Advisory Board
