Retirement table: pensionable age and service by year

Retirement table by year

The table shows the general rule under Art. 68(1) and (2) of the Social Insurance Code. It applies to category III work, that is, to most people. Women’s age rises by 2 months a year until 2029, and from 2030 by 3 months a year. Men’s age rises by 1 month a year. The required service rises by 2 months a year to 37 years for women and 40 for men.

How to find your year

1. Add the age for the current year to your date of birth. If the resulting month falls in the same year, that is your year.
2. If the month falls in the following year, take the age for that year and calculate again. The requirement rises every year, so retirement is sometimes pushed back by 1–3 months.
3. Check the service required for the same year. If your service is not enough when you reach the age, you have to meet both conditions that apply for a later year.

For example, a woman born in April 1964 reaches 62 y 6 m (the requirement for 2026) in October 2026. The month is in 2026, so the condition is met.

A woman born in October 1964, on the other hand, reaches 62 y 6 m in April 2027. But 2027 requires 62 y 8 m, so the condition is met in June 2027.

The right to a pension does not lapse. If you met the conditions in a previous year, you can retire later under the conditions already met. But if you apply more than 2 months after acquiring the right, the pension runs from the date of the application.

Pensionable age by year of birth

Using the same rule, we calculated when people born from 1961 to 1972 reach pensionable age. The table is accurate to the month and shows only the age condition. The service must be completed separately.

What service counts

What matters for your pension is insured service, that is, the time during which you were insured and contributions were paid or due. Employment service up to 31 December 1999 is recognised as insured service. For periods after 2000 there is no service without contributions, except in cases expressly set out in law, such as sick leave, maternity leave and unemployment benefit.

Service in first and second category labour is converted. Three years in category I or four years in category II count as five years in category III. Missing service documents are searched for in the archives even when the company closed long ago (tracing your employment record).

If your service is not enough: 67 years and 15 years of service

If your service is not enough, you are entitled to a pension at 67 (for women and men) with at least 15 years of actual insured service. Here, category I and II service is not converted. A pension on this basis is at least €295.38 from 1 July 2026, that is, 85% of the minimum pension.

The other option is to buy the missing service: at most 5 years, and only after you reach pensionable age. From 1 August 2026 one month of service costs €122.80. If you have worked in an EU country, that service is added to your Bulgarian service for the right to a pension.

Early retirement

If you have the full insured service for the year, you can retire up to 1 year early (Art. 68a of the Social Insurance Code). The pension is reduced by 0.4% for each month short of the retirement age; for 12 months that is 4.8%. The reduction is for life and does not change on recalculation. Anyone who retires this way loses the right to a pension under the general rule.

With category I and II work you may be entitled to a fixed-term pension from an occupational pension fund. An NSSI pension is granted only if you have no such right or have transferred your insurance under Art. 4c of the Social Insurance Code. A UP-23 for transferring the funds from the occupational fund is submitted with the application. Military personnel and ballet dancers have separate conditions.

What to do as the year approaches

• Submit the application within 2 months of acquiring the right. The pension is then granted from the date of the right, and with a later application from the date of submission. The form is UP-1. Submission is free, in person or online with a personal identification code (PIC) or a QES (what to attach).
• Check your service record and the forecast free of charge. In the electronic services portal of the NSSI, with a PIC or qualified electronic signature (QES), you will find the electronic insurance record and the “Calculation of a forecast pension” service. It requires at least 36 months of data after 1999 and does not assess whether your right to a pension has arisen.
• Work out whether to defer. Each year of work after you acquire the right, without drawing a pension, counts for 4% (3% for service between 2007 and 2011) instead of the usual 1.35% or 1.2% in the formula (Art. 70(2) of the Social Insurance Code). The rule applies to actual service after 31 December 2006, without conversion.
• If you are in a second-pillar pension fund, decide whether to move entirely to the NSSI. In 2026–2030 this must be done no later than 2 years before pensionable age (how the move works).
• Expect a decision within 4 months. If the right is proved, within 1 month the NSSI starts paying the pension at the minimum amount until it calculates the final one.
• If you will need a loan after you retire, banks look at how old you will be at the last payment. For a consumer loan the limit is 70, 75 or 80 years (loans for pensioners), and for a mortgage 65, 70 or 75 (maximum age for a mortgage loan).