BASPSC

Bulgarian Association of supplementary pension security companies

Category: News

Announcement / BADDPO publications / BASPSC in the media / International news and events / News

World Bank Group member IFC acquires stake in VIG’s Bulgarian pension fund Doverie

Focus on joint strengthening of private pension provision

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, takes a stake of around 10% in Doverie, the pension fund in Bulgaria in which the Vienna Insurance Group
(VIG) holds a majority stake. The cooperation aims to strengthen and jointly further expand the Bulgarian pension insurance market.

“As part of our VIG 25 strategy programme, we are intensifying our involvement in the pension fund business, where we still see great potential of growth. With IFC on board, which contributes its global expertise in this business segment, we can jointly contribute even more efficiently to the necessary strengthening of private pension provision in Bulgaria”, explains Peter Höfinger, member of the Managing Board of Vienna Insurance Group and country manager for Bulgaria. Demographic developments are putting further pressure on the financing of state pension systems in many CEE countries. The pension and insurance business in Bulgaria thus represents an important system for ensuring social protection and preventing poverty in old age. IFC will also support Doverie in the technical expansion of its planned digital business activities and the use of digital channels to attract new members.

VIG’s values, with a focus on a long-term perspective and sustainable growth, align with IFC’s values. Bulgaria adopted the World Bank’s 3-pillar pension system in early 2000 to ensure the stability of the pension system. IFC’s investment in Doverie is in line with IFC’s strategy and objective to contribute to the improvement of the pension system in the CEE markets. All countries in the CEE region are members of the World Bank and IFC.Vienna Insurance Group holds a stake of around 93% in Doverie. The pension fund has been the market-leading pension fund in Bulgaria for 15 years and has a market share of 25%. As of mid-2022, assets of around EUR 2.3 billion were managed for around 1.2 million clients.Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG) is the leading insurance group both in Austria and in the entire Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Around 50 insurance companies in 30 countries form a Group with a long-standing tradition, strong brands and close customer relations. The more than 25,000 employees in the VIG take care of the day-to-day needs of more than 22 million customers. VIG shares have been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1994, on the Prague Stock Exchange since 2008 and on the Budapest Stock Exchange since November 2022. The VIG Group has an A+ rating with stable outlook by the internationally recognised rating agency Standard & Poor’s. VIG cooperates closely with the Erste Group, the largest retail bank in Central and Eastern Europe.

18_IFC_takes_a_stake_at_Doverie

https://www.vig.com/en/press/press-releases/detail/world-bank-group-member-ifc-acquires-stake-in-vigs-bulgarian-pension-fund-doverie-1.html

For more information: site IFC

 

Announcement / BADDPO publications / BASPSC in the media / International news and events / News / Papers and presentations

ON 13 SEPTEMBER 2022 BASPSC CELEBRATED ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

On September 13, 2022, with an elegant cocktail in Grand Hotel Sofia, the members of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Insurance Companies celebrated the 25th anniversary since the establishment of the Association.


Over the past quarter century BASPSC and pension insurance companies have established themselves as one of the main drivers for the development of supplementary pension insurance and the validation of the three-pillar model of Bulgaria’s pension system.
Among the official guests of the event for the anniversary of the Association were: Mr. Lazar Lazarov – Official Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policies and Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Mrs. Diana Yordanova, Deputy Chair in Charge of the Social Insurance Supervision Division, FSC; Mr. Vladimir Savov, Deputy Chair in charge of the Insurance Supervision Division in the Financial Supervision Commission, Mr. Ivaylo Ivanov – Governor of the National Social Security Institute, former ministers of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, as well as representatives of associations, trade unions and state institutions, public and non-governmental organizations, media and associates people of the pension industry.
During the years of its existence, the Association and its members have actively engaged in the processes of preparation of legislation regulating the activity, the reform of the pension insurance system in Bulgaria and the introduction of the supplementary compulsory pension insurance as part of it, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chairman of the MB of BASPSC Mrs. Evelina Miltenova expressed thanks in her introductory speech and listed the successes, many challenges and achievements of the Association over the years, as noted the successful start of the phase of repayment of the second pensions of the first insured persons in September 2021 and the rest to resolve key pending issues such as the introduction of the multifunds, the reduction coefficent problem, the need to increase the contribution installments to the universal pension funds, etc.
On behalf of the European Federation PensionsEurope, a video message was broadcasted with a congratulatory address by Mr. JanWillem Bouma-Chairman of the Management Board of the Federation of European Pension Associations PensionsEurope, of which BASPSC has been a long-standing member.


The Board of BASPSC also received a congratulatory address to the Association, its members and guests at the event and from Mr. Rumen Radev – President of the Republic of Bulgaria, from Mr. Galab Donev – Prime Minister of The Republic of Bulgaria, from the Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, from the Chairman of the Management Board of the Foundation “Prof. Dr. Veleslav Gavriyski”, from the President of VUZF, from the President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association Union of the Bulgarian Business, Association of the Bulgarian Insurers, Association of the Insurance Brokers in Bulgaria, from the Chairman of the MB of Bulstrad Viena Insurance Group, from the “Dimitar A. Tsenov” Academy of Economics – Svishtov, etc.
Mr. Lazar Lazarov – Official Deputy Prime Minister of Social Policies and Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Mrs. Diana Yordanova – Deputy Chair in charge of the Social Insurance Supervision Division , Mr. Ivan Neykov – ex- Social Minister and Chairman of the Balkan Institute for Labour and Social Policy, Mr. Nikola Abadzhiev – longtime Chairman of BASPSC until 2018 and Mr. Nikolay Vassilev – Managing Partner of “Expat Capital”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the event, Evelina Miltenova, Chairman of the MB of BASPSC, once again expressed her gratitude to all presented organizations, stakerholders and partners without whom the activities of the Association would not be possible and invited all members of the Management Board to cut the festive cake.

BASPSC is a member of the European Confederation (PensionsEurope), which represents union of 24 national pension associations of pension funds from 18 EU Member States and four other European countries.

Information about 25 Years celebration of the BASPSC

 

 

 

BASPSC in the media / News

The Management Board of the BASPSC organizes the official celebration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Association with a cocktail on 13 September 2022, 18.00, Grand Hotel Sofia, Triaditza Hall

The Management Board of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies organizes the official celebration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Association with a cocktail on

13 September 2022, 18.00, Grand Hotel Sofia, Triaditza Hall

This year BASPSC marks a quarter of a century since the establishment of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies (BASPSC). For the members of BASPSC, this is a remarkable event, behind which lies the multi-year history of supplementary pension insurance in Bulgaria.
In 1997, the Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies was established with the aim of uniting the entire industry. Since then we have consolidated the efforts of nine pension companies actively involved with our capacity, opportunities and expertise in the implementation of the pension reform, formation and improvement of legislation in the field of pension insurance and the validation of the three-pillar pension model in the country. Over the period of twenty-five years BASPSC successfully serves the public and society and does nonstop working in the interest of the pension insurance system in Bulgaria and the increasement in the retirement savings of the insured persons in the pension companies, members of the Association.

Management Board of BASPSC

International news and events / News / Papers and presentations

Summary of the World Pension Alliance Sustainable Finance Paper 2022

Summary of the World Pension Alliance Sustainable Finance Paper 2022
Action required:
For your information.
In the 2022 Sustainable Finance Paper of the World Pension Alliance (WPA):
• The World Penson Alliance (WPA) Paper on Sustainable Finance provides an analysis on the involvement and initiatives from pension administrations and pension funds in sustainable finance.
• This paper focuses on the five membership regions of the WPA: Australia, Canada, The European Union, Latin America and the United States, and describes the main issues faced by these regions in the integration of social and economic considerations concerning ESG factors, and their efforts to tackle these challenges.
• Despite some regional divergences, the paper highlights that environmental quality, job creation and replacement of ageing infrastructure are at the core of the policy debate in many countries. Capital investment and other financial resources must be deployed to find adequate solutions. Pension funds are perceived as key actors by politicians to address these issues, as they constitute the main source of worldwide capital investment.
Some key points presented in the paper:
• US: The paper provides an historical analysis on pension funds corporate governance responsibilities and the use of private pension fund assets for broader social objectives that began in the 1970s in the USA.
• Canada: The regulatory landscape around obligations and sustainable investment within the Canadian pension industry remains relatively broad, but this is expected to shift in the near- to medium-term. The legal standard of fiduciary obligation is long-standing in Canada and is embedded within common, corporate, and financial services law. Recent consultations, policy work and scientific papers have focused on possible ESG integration into the Canadian financial system.
• Europe: The paper presents different initiatives that are taking place at the European level, such as the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive, the Taxonomy Regulation, the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation, the corporate sustainability due diligence proposal and the IORP directive. This 2022/16 – Membership note part also describes some developments at the national level, including in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany.
• Australia: Superannuation funds operate as trusts. Trustees are responsible for the prudential operation of their funds in the formulation and implementation of an investment strategy. In the past years, Australia has conducted several consultations and policy work on this matter, which leads the author to argue that the prudential regulatory regime is expected to be updated in the future.
• Latin America: This part includes examples from Latin America, but also from Spain since FIAP has a Spanish member. The Chilean, Colombian, Mexican, Spanish and Brazilian private pension funds are advancing in the self-regulation of the application of Socially Responsible Investment SRI concepts and ESG factors in investment decision-making. The analysis gives some figures and references to ESG integration by the fund managers and pension funds in the FIAP countries and presents the recent developments in Spain and the region.

For more information: https://www.pensionseurope.eu/

Memb note 16 – Summary World Pension Alliance Paper on Sustainable finance

Memb note 16 – Annex 1 – WPA-Sustainable-Finance-Paper-2022

International news and events / News

PensionsEurope’s CEEC FORUM 2022 – 14.06.2022 Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Zagreb

CEEC Forum_PE_IPE_Criatia_short note_site

On 14 June 2022 Mrs Evelina Miltenova (Chair of BASPSC), Mr. Miroslav Marinov (Executive Director PIC Doverie) and Mr. Nickolay Slavchev (Senior Methodology Expert PIC Alianz) participated on behalf of the Bulgarian Association of supplementary pension insurance companies in the hybrid event of the PensionsEurope’s CEEC Forum in association with IPE, Association of the Croatian Pension funds and hosted by UMFO (Croatian Chamber of Commerce – Zagreb.
The forum took place on 14 June 2022 at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (Rooseveltov Trg 2, Zagreb, Croatia) in Zagreb and was also available online. The Pensions Europe stablished the Central and Eastern European Countries Forum to discuss common issues to pension systems in that region. The speakers discussed on issues as varied as the EU Recovery and resilience facility and relevance in pension reforms, the consequences of the war in Ukraine on pension funds, the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP) and impacts on EU Capital Markets and retirement income, the opportunities and challenges for CEEC private equity and venture capital, Recent developments in the CEEC regions, etc Mr Marinov took part in person in the panel analyzing the Impact of the War in Ukraine on the pension funds. He acknowledged the Bulgarian pension funds had practically no exposure to Russian investments due to the prudent decisions and highly conservative approach adopted after the Crimean annexation.

BASPSC in the media / News

Interview of Vladislav Russev, member of the Managing Board of BASPSC in the TV Program “In Development”, on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria – March, 8th 2022.

Vl. Russev: The crises will be overcome and there will no collapse of the economy.
The changes for the pension insurance funds will be short-term – we will not reconsider the strategy, said the Chief Executive Director of the PIC Allianz Bulgaria.
Whatever happens there will be no collapse of the economy, this crisis will be overcome no matter how severe from humanitarian point of view. This was commented on Bloomberg TV Bulgaria by Vladislav Russev, Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board and Chief Executive Director of the Pension Insurance Company – PIC Allianz Bulgaria.
According to him, from the point of view of the pension funds the will be short-term. “I do not believe there will be a need for a general rethinking of the strategy. At the moment the most important is to limit the damage to the investments and to position ourselves in the right way for growth that will inevitable come”, he said.
Russev reminded, that Russia has perceived as risky location for investments and is categorical that this attitude will not require general changes.
The guest confirmed that this is not the first financial crisis, during which the sector will go through. “We can search analogies with other similar crises, the last one was 2020 when the corona crises began. Then the markets fell more than now. The fall started in February, in our financial pension funds it was around 10%, but by the middle of the year was overcome, commented the financier.” – At the moment the falling of the markets is not under the levels we started in 2021. This means that the profitability of the markets from 2021 has not been erased.”
He reveals that for the last three years the yield is about 15%. “This which currently are the markets loosing is one third if this positive return for the last three years,” said Russev.
The financier shared that certain news make the markets to react positively. “This is what is happening today with the European markers that reacted positively to the news for the issuing of the European bonds for the defense and energy support”, stated Vladislav Russev.
What is the current state of the financial markets? How would the central banks react if the sanctions are extended and an embargo on energy sources and raw materials is reached? When will there be portfolios with different risk profile depending of the age of the client? See the whole interview in a video of Bloomberg TV Bulgaria тук

News / Research and statistics

The Number of the Insured Persons in the Supplementary Pension Insurance Funds Reached 4.849 Million as of 31-st of December, 2021, Net Assets BGN 19.557 Billion.

The Insurance Supervision Department of the FCS announced the preliminary results of the supplementary pension insurance activity as of December 31st, 2021. The information was obtained on the basis of reports, submitted by the pension insurance companies of the Financial Supervision Commission. The data on the distribution of the insured persons by sex and age in the supplementary pension insurance funds as of December 31st, 2021 have also been published.

The total number of the insured persons in the four types of funds for supplementary pension insurance as of 31st of December, 2021 is 4 849 754 persons, increased compared to September 30th, 2021 by 0.64 per cent.
As of December 31st, 2021, net assets amounting to BGN 19,557,121 thousand have been accumulated in the supplementary pension insurance funds. Compared to the end of 2020 the net assets of the pension insurance funds increase by 13,08 per cent. The total income of the pension insurance companies for 2021 amount to 311,101 thousand leva. By the end of 2021, 7 lifelong pension funds (FIPP) and 9 deferred payment funds (DPF) have been established. During the period September 1st, 2021 – December 31st, 2021 total 270 pension contracts are concluded for the payment of the supplementary lifetime old-age pension and 1863 contracts for deferred payment of funds with the first persons, insured in the universal pension funds and reaching retirement age. In order to make payments to these persons during the period September 1st, 2021 – December 31st, 2021, BGN 4,491 thousand were transferred from their individual accounts to the FIPP and BGN 8,625 thousand to the DPF. During the same period, BGN 52,000 was paid for pensions by the FIPP, and BGN 596,000 was paid by the DPF for deferred payments to insured persons and BGN 8,000 once to heirs of insured persons who received deferred payments.

Funds in the amount of BGN 58,000 were paid once from the universal pension funds to insured persons who have reached retirement age and had very small pension savings.
The information about the preliminary results of the pension funds and the funds for making payments for 2021 as well as for the insured persons and the accumulated amounts in the pension funds as of December 31st, 2021 by sex and age could be found in the section: Markets / Insurance market/ here.

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