Universal Pension Fund - UBB Pension Insurance

Insurance in UPF

• Defined contributions	The amount of the contribution to the UPF for 2024 is 5% of the insurance income, with 2.8% covered by the employer and 2.2% by the employee.
• Capital principle	The UPF insurance is based on a capital principle. This means that individuals have their own individual account, the funds in which accumulate over time, are invested and provide additional income.
• Succession	The funds in the individual pension insurance account are owned by the insured person and are inherited. The legal heirs of a deceased insured person may receive the funds accumulated in the individual account in the form of a lump sum or a deferred payment.
• Protection from enforcement	The funds accumulated in the individual UPF account are not enforceable.

The custodian bank of Universal Pension Fund UBB is UniCredit Bulbank.

The value of a unit of the Universal Pension Fund UBB, valid for the last working day of each month, is announced on the third working day of the following month in the newspaper "Trud".

Results of funds management

Contributions are invested with strict rules, balanced risk and clear objectives.

UBB Pension Insurance manages the funds of the persons insured in the UBB Pension Fund in compliance with the principles of quality, reliability, liquidity, profitability and diversification. The asset management of the UBF has two main objectives:

Long-term - preservation of purchasing power and real growth of the funds in the individual accounts of the persons insured in the fund. The criterion for the achievement of the objective is to achieve a return over a period of at least 10 years higher than the inflation rate calculated on the basis of the Consumer Price Index published by the National Statistics Institute;
Medium term - to achieve a return above the average for the supplementary pension insurance market calculated on the basis of information published by the Financial Supervision Commission.

The Company seeks to reduce the Fund's investment risk by maintaining a high level of portfolio diversification by asset class and selecting investment instruments and issuers to achieve the best possible expected return while minimising the risk associated with individual securities of a given issuer or asset class.

The investment policy of UPF can be found in the Investments section.

Average amount of accumulated funds per insured person in the UPF (as of 30.09.2023)

5 570,48 BGN

for UPF UBB

4 629,32 BGN

average for all UPF

Portfolio structure of UBB Universal Pension Fund as of 31.12.2022

Government and supranational bonds 57.73%
Corporate bonds 4.43%
Equity and mutual funds 29.22%
REIT's 1.28%
Deposits and Money-market 7.34%
Receivables 0.00%

Rights of insured persons

Right to choose

Every worker has the right to be covered by only one universal pension fund. It is important to know that if you do not choose your own pension company to manage your second pension within three months of starting your first job, you will be allocated ex officio to one of the pension funds in operation in the country, where your mandatory contribution to the second pension will be paid. It is important to choose a pension company that will manage your money responsibly and professionally in the years leading up to retirement.

Right to transfer

The funds in your individual account can be transferred to another pension fund if 1 year has passed since your last transfer (the 1 year period applies from the last change of participation as well as from the conclusion of the first insurance contract, the administrative allocation or the resumption of insurance in the UPF).

Right to information

Free information on the amount accumulated in the personal insurance account, the contributions paid, the returns realised on the fund's investments, the fees and deductions collected by the company;
A statement of the individual insurance account for the previous calendar year, which is sent by email or post by 31 May each year.

Payments from the Fund

1. Supplementary lifetime annuity for the persons whose accumulations in the account in the UPF allow the granting of such a pension with a monthly amount of at least 15% of the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age.

The supplementary lifetime annuity has three varieties:

Lifetime annuity without additional conditions - it is granted for life in the same monthly amount and is not subject to inheritance. The monthly amount of the payment is at least 15% of the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age and the maximum amount is not higher than the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age.
Lifetime annuity with guaranteed payment period - is granted for life in the same monthly amount and includes a guaranteed period of 2 to 10 years (at the choice of the pensioner). The minimum amount of the payment is equal to 15% of the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age and the maximum amount is not higher than the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age. In the event of such a lifetime payment the present value of the payments due until the end of the guaranteed period is inherited.
A lifetime annuity, including deferred payment of a portion of the funds until the annuity client reaches an age of his or her choice - granted for life in a level monthly amount after the deferred payment period. The length of the deferred payment period should be chosen by the annuity client in such a way that the monthly amount paid is not less than 15% of the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age and the maximum amount is not higher than the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old age. In the event of such a payment the present value of payments due until the end of the deferred payment period shall be inherited.

The amount of all lifetime annuities is subject to updatе, depending on the technical interest rate, on the basis of which the respective amount has been calculated and the return on the investment of the funds in the Fund for Lifetime Annuities Payment for the period to which the update refers.

Under certain conditions laid down by law (when the amount of the funds in the individual account is greater than the sum of the gross amounts of the contributions paid), each of the above three types of life pension may be paid with a guaranteed initial amount (equal to the amount of the first pension calculated on the basis of the accumulated funds in the individual account), and a risk coefficient applied.

2. Deferred payment of funds for persons whose accumulations in the PF account are not sufficient for the granting of a life pension, but exceed three times the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement age. The duration of the deferred payment period is chosen by the pensioner in such a way that the monthly amount paid is not less than 15% of the amount of the minimum pension for the country.

3. A lump sum payment for persons whose accumulations in the account are below three minimum pensions for the country.*

* As of 01.07.2023 the minimum monthly amount of the state pension for retirement and old-age shall be BGN 523.04. The minimum monthly amount of the supplementary life pension from the UPF is equal to BGN 78.46. Three times the minimum monthly retirement pension shall be BGN 1 569.12.

Pension amount

The amount of the life pension from the Universal Pension Fund UBB is determined by:

the amount and regularity of the contributions that flow into the insurance account;
the amount of charges and deductions;
the investment return;
the technical interest;
life expectancy after retirement in accordance with established biometric tables.

UBB Pension maintains a calculator to determine the amount and type of pension from the UBB Universal Pension Fund. The address of the calculator is https://ubb-pensions.bg/en/calculator. We recommend using the calculator with the help of a pension insurance agent or an officer of the company's Customer Contact Centre at tel. 0800 11 464.

Payments from UPF before pension entitlement

Before becoming entitled to a pension from UPF, pension fund clients are entitled to the following payments:

a lump-sum payment of up to 50% of the amount accumulated in the account in case of permanently reduced working capacity exceeding 89.99%;
lump sum or deferred payment of amounts to the legal heirs of a deceased pension fund client, subject to the respective application of Article 3, Article 4, paragraph 1, and Articles 5 to 10a of the Inheritance Act.

Joining and change of participation in UPF

Choice of UPF

The choice of pension fund is personal. Each person who is subject to pension insurance has only the right to choose which fund to be insured in. The insured person shall submit an application to the pension insurance company and sign a participation contract with the pension insurance company within three months of becoming liable for insurance.

If the person does not choose the pension company to manage his/her second pension funds within three months of starting his/her first job, he/she will be allocated administratively to one of the pension funds in operation in the country, where his/her mandatory contribution to the second pension will be received.

Change of participation in UPF UBB

Grounds for change of participation and for transfer of the accumulated funds of an insured person from one universal pension fund to another universal pension fund arise in case of:

If one year has elapsed from the date of:

- the conclusion of the person's first insurance contract;

- of his/her administrative allocation;

- on the commencement of the insurance relationship under Article 124a(1) of the Social Security Code in the event of resumption of insurance from the Pension Fund of the State Social Insurance to the Universal Pension Fund;

- from the date of transfer of the funds from another universal pension fund managed by another pension insurance company under Art. 124b.

In case of disagreement with the changes made in the regulations on the organization and activity of the fund. The transfer shall be made by the insured person submitting an application and contract within three months of the changes (pursuant to Article 144(5) of the Social Security Code). The company shall inform the clients in person or by publication in two central daily newspapers of the changes made to the regulations. A change in the regulations resulting from a change in the regulatory framework (i.e. not initiated by the pension company itself) or a change in the registered office or registered address of the pension company shall not be grounds for a change in the participation and transfer of funds to a universal pension fund managed by another pension insurance company (Article 171(3) of the Social Security Code).
Disagreement with changes made in the investment policy of the pension fund.
Conversion or termination of a pension insurance company or of a separate fund managed by it.
Acquired right to a pension from the universal pension fund UBB in which the person participates. An insured person who has acquired the right to a pension from the UBB universal pension fund shall have the right to change his/her participation once and to transfer the accumulated funds in the individual account or the guaranteed gross contributions, whichever is higher, to another relevant fund managed by another pension insurance company.

The new choice and the change of participation in the additional mandatory pension funds of UBB Pension Insurance can also be made through an electronic process, where through a qualified electronic signature and the assistance of an insurance intermediary of UBB Pension Insurance, customers can sign the necessary documents - quickly, easily and securely!

Fees and deductions

UBB Universal Pension Fund collects the following statutory fees and deductions for its activities:

Type and amount of fees and deductions in UPF UBB

Name of the fee/deduction	Amount of the fee/deduction
Deduction from each contribution	3.75% of each contribution - if less than 120 monthly contributions are received 3.60% of each contribution - if 120 or more monthly contributions are received. The reduced deduction shall also apply in cases where the insured person was insured in a universal fund managed by another pension insurance company. In order to benefit from the reduced deduction, the person shall declare his/her wish to do so to the Company by submitting an application, enclosing evidence (a statement from the person's individual account in the fund in which he/she was insured or information from the NRA on the monthly contributions paid for that person).
Investment fee on the net asset value of the fund	0.75% p.a. on the net assets of the UBB Universal Pension Fund, depending on the period during which they were managed by UBB Pension Insurance

Information on fees and deductions is available in the Regulations on the Organisation and Activities of the UBB Universal Pension Fund.

Forms

Forms for Universal Pension Fund

57.35 kb / PDF

Disclaimer

The presentation of the products is not exhaustive as regards all their specific features and characteristics. Full information on the insurance in the universal pension fund and on the types of payments is contained in the Regulations on the organisation and activity of the UBB Universal Pension Fund.

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