The Bulgarian pension reform: post-accession issues and challenges

Focusing on the social impacts of the 2000-2 pension reform in Bulgaria, the article examines how Bulgarian pensioners cope with income risk in old age. Reporting that old-age pensions are frequently inadequate to household consumption needs, the authors argue for more generous tax-financed social pensions alongside contributory pension provision, to combat old-age poverty. As the poorest country to date to achieve European Union accession, the article concludes by suggesting that Bulgaria's pursuit of fuller integration and development within the EU cannot be divorced from better meeting the social security needs of its ageing population.