Ordinance No. 61 of 27.09.2018 on Requirements for Advertising and Written Information Materials and Internet Pages of Pension Insurance Companies

ORDINANCE No. 61 of 27.09.2018 on the requirements for the advertising and written information materials and the internet pages of the pension insurance companies

Pub. - State Gazette, No. 84 of 12.10.2018, in force from 19.11.2018; amended and supplemented, No. 41 of 21.05.2019; amended, No. 55 of 02.07.2021; amended and supplemented, No. 29 of 12.04.2022; amended and supplemented, No. 82 of 14.10.2022, in force from 14.10.2022; amended and supplemented, No. 70 of 20.08.2024; amended, No. 20 of 11.03.2025, in force from the date of introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria

Adopted by Decision No. 922-N of 27.09.2018 of the Commission for Financial Supervision

Section I General Provisions

Art. 1. (Am. - SG, No. 41 of 2019; am., No. 55 of 2021; am. and supp., No. 70 of 2024) (1) This Ordinance determines:

1. the requirements for the advertising and written information materials of the pension insurance companies;
2. the requirements for the internet pages of the pension insurance companies;
3. (am. - SG, No. 41 of 2019; am., No. 55 of 2021) the forms of the documents and information under Art. 123z2, para. 1, item 3 - 6 of the Social Security Code;
4. (supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) the requirements for the form and content of the information on the volume and structure of investments by asset types and issuers of financial instruments of the funds for additional mandatory pension insurance, the fund for additional voluntary pension insurance, the fund for additional voluntary pension insurance under professional schemes, the sub-funds in the voluntary pension fund for PEPP, and the funds for making payments;
5. (am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) the requirements for the determination and public disclosure of the achieved return and the level of investment risk in the management of the funds and sub-funds under item 4;
6. (supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) the applicable method for calculating the achieved real return on the individual accounts of the insured persons in the funds for additional mandatory pension insurance, in the fund for additional voluntary pension insurance and in the fund for additional voluntary pension insurance under professional schemes and on the analytical accounts of the persons who receive payments from the fund for deferred payments.

(2) (Supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) The requirements of this Ordinance apply to all advertising and written information materials, including printed, audio, visual, electronic or other, which contain a description of the characteristics, products, services and results of the activities of the pension insurance companies and the funds and sub-funds managed by them.

(3) The requirements of this Ordinance also apply to the materials which:

1. the pension insurance company distributes, publishes on its internet page or includes in the content of its advertising and written information materials;
2. are distributed by other persons on behalf of the company or with the participation of its representatives.

Section II Requirements for Advertising and Written Information Materials

Art. 2. (Am. and supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am. and supp., No. 70 of 2024) (1) The advertising and written information materials of the pension insurance companies must:

1. be prepared in Bulgarian, and when accompanied by a foreign translation, it must correspond completely to the text in Bulgarian;
2. be written understandably, as the terms and concepts used are consistent with the terminology accepted in the regulatory framework;
3. not contain texts contradicting the regulatory framework;
4. (am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) contain accurate and up-to-date information about the pension insurance company and the funds managed by it and the conditions for participation in them;
5. not present products and services that the respective pension insurance company does not currently offer;
6. not contain incorrect, incomplete, misleading or deceptive data and information, including by not hiding or concealing material facts and circumstances through the information contained therein;
7. (supp. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) not contain ambiguous or exaggerated information, as a result of which its recipient may form a false impression or conclusion about a pension insurance company, a fund managed by it or a sub-fund or about additional pension insurance;
8. (am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) contain text stating that the indicated results are not related to future results, when information about the results of the activities of the pension insurance company and the funds managed by it is indicated;
9. contain the indicators and periods for the numerical data indicated in them;
10. contain the source where the information can be compared or obtained in full volume, when references to documents, results of studies or statistical information are used;
11. (am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) not contain self-assessment of the company and/or the funds or sub-funds managed by it, such as "largest", "best", "leader" and other similar expressions;
12. not contain a promise to achieve future investment returns;
13. contain quotes or references to publications only if there is no doubt about their authenticity.

(2) (Am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) The disclosure of the achieved return and the level of investment risk in the management of the assets of each fund and sub-fund under Art. 1, para. 1, item 4 must be accompanied by:

1. (am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) a brief explanation of the meaning of the indicators for the achieved return and for the level of investment risk, as well as information that positive return is not guaranteed, and for a professional pension fund, funds for additional voluntary pension insurance and sub-funds in a voluntary pension fund for PEPP - information that the full preservation of the funds contributed to the individual accounts, respectively to the PEPP accounts, is not guaranteed;
2. indication of the methodology used for calculating the return and investment risk under item 1 and the place and method for familiarizing with it;
3. (supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) indication of the place and method for familiarizing with the investment policy of the fund for additional pension insurance, as well as changes in the main objectives and restrictions of investment activities during the period for which the results are disclosed.

(3) (New - SG, No. 55 of 2021) The disclosure of the achieved return and the level of investment risk in the management of the assets of a fund for making payments must be accompanied by:

1. a brief explanation of the meaning of the indicators for the achieved return and for the level of investment risk;
2. indication of the methodology used for calculating the return and investment risk under item 1 and the place and method for familiarizing with it;
3. indication of the place and method for familiarizing with the investment policy of the fund for making payments, as well as changes in the main objectives and restrictions of investment activities during the period for which the results are disclosed.

(4) (Previous para. 3, am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) The data used in determining the results of the activities of the pension insurance company and the funds and sub-funds managed by it must correspond to the data presented to the Commission for Financial Supervision.

(5) (Previous para. 4, am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) The pension insurance company may compare the offered conditions for additional pension insurance and the achieved results of its activities with those of other pension insurance companies and the funds and sub-funds managed by them only if it presents the corresponding conditions and data for the entire additional pension insurance market for the same period.

(6) (Previous para. 5. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) In the event that the pension insurance company is part of a financial group, the activities of the company must be clearly distinguished from those of the group, and the results achieved by the group must not be presented as inherent results of the company.

(7) (Previous para. 6, repealed. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) .

Art. 3. (1) In the event of amendments and additions to the regulatory framework regulating the activities related to additional pension insurance, the pension insurance company updates the content of the advertising and written information materials or stops their distribution within 14 days from the entry into force of the change made, and the information on the company's internet page is updated within 7 days from the change.

(2) Previous text of an advertising or written information material may be preserved with an explicit note of the date of its amendment or addition.

Section III Requirements for the Internet Page of the Pension Insurance Company

Art. 4. (Am. and supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am. and supp., No. 70 of 2024) (1) The information and materials published on the internet page of the pension insurance company, including when their author is a third party, must meet the requirements of Section II.

(2) The internet page of the pension insurance company contains:

1. full name of the company, seat and management address, telephone numbers and electronic address for contact with the company;
2. data on the judicial registration, respectively - on the entry in the commercial register kept by the Registry Agency, as well as on the pension license of the company;
3. current status of circumstances subject to entry in the commercial register, as well as a short biographical presentation of the executive directors and members of the management and supervisory bodies of the pension insurance company;
4. data on the shareholders of the pension insurance company holding a qualified participation in its capital - name, respectively name and size of the shareholding;
5. addresses and telephone numbers of the company's offices in the country;
6. (supp. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) names of the established and managed by the company funds for additional pension insurance, data on their judicial registration and on the permit for management of the respective fund, names of the sub-funds in the voluntary pension fund for PEPP, as well as a registration code in the National Revenue Agency for the funds for additional mandatory pension insurance;
7. (new - SG, No. 55 of 2021) names of the funds for making payments managed by the company, data on their entry in the register under Art. 30, para. 1, item 13 of the Law on the Commission for Financial Supervision and in the BULSTAT register;
8. (previous item 7 - SG, No. 55 of 2021) composition of the trustee and advisory councils, telephone and address for contact with the chairman or another representative of the respective council;
9. (previous item 8, am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) trustee bank, respectively the depositary of each managed fund and investment intermediaries with which the pension insurance company has concluded contracts for the execution of transactions with financial instruments;
10. (previous item 9 - SG, No. 55 of 2021) regulations on the organization and activities of the funds for additional pension insurance, as well as the names of the two central daily newspapers in which notices of changes and additions to the regulations are published;
11. (new - SG, No. 55 of 2021) rules of the funds for making payments and current structure of their investment portfolio at the end of each quarter - separately for each fund managed by the company according to the form according to Annexes No. 14a - 14v;
12. (previous item 10, am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) investment policy and current structure of the investment portfolio at the end of each quarter - separately for each fund managed by the company for additional pension insurance, respectively sub-fund in the voluntary pension fund for PEPP according to the form according to Annexes No. 12 - 14;
13. (previous item 11, am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) the value of one share for the current day and for each day of the period after 1.07.2004 - separately for each fund managed by the company for additional pension insurance, respectively sub-fund in the voluntary pension fund for PEPP, as well as the name of the central daily newspaper in which the value of one share, valid for the last working day of each month, is announced;
14. (previous item 12 - SG, No. 55 of 2021) the methodology used for calculating the achieved return and the level of investment risk;
15. (previous item 13, supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp. No. 70 of 2024) procedure and deadlines for consideration of complaints related to the activities of the company and the funds managed by it, with explicit indication of the bodies to which complaints and signals can be submitted according to Art. 174 of the Social Security Code, Art. 50, para. 1 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1238 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on the pan-European personal pension product (PEPP) (OJ, L 198/1 of 25 July 2019), hereinafter referred to as "Regulation (EU) 2019/1238", and the regulations on the organization and activities of the respective funds for additional pension insurance, respectively the rules of the funds for making payments;
16. (previous item 14, supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) the forms of applications, petitions, forms and other documents approved by the management bodies of the company, relating to the rights of the insured persons, the PEPP insured persons, pensioners, PEPP beneficiaries and their heirs and the procedures for their exercise, as well as the current documents with basic information for the insured persons and the key information document for PEPP under Art. 26, paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1238, in a format allowing them to be printed and filled out;
17. (new - SG, No. 55 of 2021; repealed, No. 70 of 2024);
18. (previous item 15, am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) current information on the bank accounts to which fees due to the company can be paid;
19. (previous item 16 - SG, No. 55 of 2021) financial reports, documents and other materials for which there is a legal obligation to be published, with the date of publication indicated;
20. (previous item 17 - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) the forms of the identification documents that insurance intermediaries and persons authorized by insurance intermediaries - legal entities, must present in their relations with the insured persons and the PEPP insured persons;
21. (previous item 18 - SG, No. 55 of 2021) a reference (link) to the public registers of the Commission for Financial Supervision under Art. 122d and Art. 123g, para. 5 of the Social Security Code.

Section IV Forms of Documents and Information

Art. 5. (1) The document with current information on the main characteristics of a fund for additional mandatory pension insurance, which is provided upon submission of an application for participation in the fund, respectively for renewal of insurance in a universal pension fund, is prepared according to the form according to Annexes No. 3, 4 and 6 of Ordinance No. 33 of 2006 on individual applications for participation in a fund for additional mandatory pension insurance and for renewal of insurance in a universal pension fund (SG, No. 83 of 2006).

(2) The document with current information on the main characteristics of a fund for additional voluntary pension insurance and a fund for additional voluntary pension insurance under professional schemes, which is provided upon initial conclusion of an insurance contract, is prepared according to the form according to Annexes No. 1 - 3.

(3) The document with current information on the main characteristics of a fund for additional pension insurance, which is provided upon exercising the right to transfer under Art. 171 and Art. 247 of the Social Security Code, is prepared according to the form according to Annexes No. 1a, 3b and 3v of Ordinance No. 3 of 2003 on the order and manner of changing participation and for the transfer of accumulated funds of an insured person from one fund for additional pension insurance to another corresponding fund managed by another pension insurance company (SG, No. 90 of 2003).

Art. 6. (1) The extract from the individual accounts of the insured persons is prepared according to the form according to Annexes No. 4 - 6.

(2) The extract from the individual accounts of the persons insured in a professional pension fund, to whom funds have been transferred to the National Insurance Institute on the basis of § 4a, para. 1 of the transitional and final provisions of the Social Security Code, declared unconstitutional by Decision No. 7 of 31.05.2011 of the Constitutional Court, is prepared according to the form according to Annex No. 7.

Art. 7. (Am. - SG, No. 41 of 2019; am., No. 55 of 2021) Information on the individual account of an insured person under Art. 123z2, para. 1, item 4 of the Social Security Code is prepared according to the form according to Annexes No. 8 - 10.

Art. 7a. (New - SG, No. 55 of 2021) The extract from the analytical accounts of the persons who receive payments from the fund for deferred payments and the information under Art. 123z2, para. 1, item 6 of the Social Security Code are prepared according to the form according to Annexes No. 10a and 10b.

Art. 8. (Am. and supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) (1) (Previous text of Art. 8 - SG, No. 55 of 2021) Information on the achieved real return on an individual account of an insured person in a fund for additional pension insurance is prepared according to the form according to Annex No. 11.

(2) (New - SG, No. 55 of 2021) Information on the achieved real return on an analytical account of a person receiving payments from a fund for deferred payments is prepared according to the form according to Annex No. 11a.

Art. 9. (Am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) The information on the volume and structure of investments by asset types and issuers of financial instruments for each managed fund and sub-fund under Art. 1, para. 1, item 4 is published by the pension insurance company on its internet page in tabular form and with content according to Annexes No. 12 - 14v.

Section V Requirements regarding the determination and public disclosure of achieved return and the level of investment risk in the management of a fund for additional pension insurance and a fund for making payments

(Title supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021)

Art. 10. (Am. and supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am. and supp., No. 70 of 2024) (1) (Supp. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) The public disclosure of the achieved return and the level of investment risk in the management of a fund for additional pension insurance and a sub-fund under Art. 1, para. 1, item 4 is carried out, observing the requirements of Section II.

(2) (Supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; supp., No. 70 of 2024) The pension insurance company by March 31 of each year publicly discloses information on the achieved annual return and the level of investment risk in the management of each fund for additional pension insurance and sub-fund under Art. 1, para. 1, item 4, which contains:

1. (am. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) the nominal return in percent in the management of the assets of the fund, respectively sub-fund, for each consecutive calendar year of the previous five-year period, calculated as the difference between the value of one share of the fund, respectively sub-fund, valid for the last working day of the respective year, and the value of one share of the fund, respectively sub-fund, valid for the last working day of the previous year, divided by the value of one share, valid for the last working day of the previous year, according to item 1 of Annex No. 15;
2. (am. - SG, No. 55 of 2021; am., No. 70 of 2024) the average nominal return in percent in the management of the assets of the fund, respectively sub-fund, for the previous five-year period, calculated as the geometric mean of the returns determined in the manner of item 1, for each consecutive calendar year of the five-year period;
3. (supp. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) the level of investment risk in the management of the assets of the fund, respectively sub-fund, for each consecutive calendar year of the previous five-year period, measured by the indicator of standard deviation of the return, calculated according to item 4 of Annex No. 15;
4. the Sharpe ratio, calculated according to item 8 of Annex No. 15, in case the achieved nominal return is higher than the risk-free return for the respective year, determined according to item 9 of Annex No. 15.

(3) (Am. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) In the event that there are no data under para. 1, items 1 and 3 for five full calendar years from the entry of the fund in the commercial register, respectively from the creation of the sub-fund in the manner of the second sentence of Art. 214a, para. 2 of the Social Security Code, information is disclosed only for the full calendar years of management of the fund, respectively sub-fund, with explicit indication of the reasons for this.

Art. 11. (Am. - SG, No. 70 of 2024) In addition to the cases under Art. 10, para. 2, the pension insurance company may disclose information on the nominal return and the level of investment risk in the management of the assets of a fund and sub-fund under Art. 1, para. 1, item 4 at the end of each calendar quarter for the previous 24-, 36- or 60-month period, if the following conditions are met:

1. the nominal return is calculated on an annual basis according to the formula in item 2 of Annex No. 15;
2. the nominal return is disclosed simultaneously with the value of the indicator of standard deviation of the return, calculated on an annual basis according to item 4 of Annex No. 15, from data for the same period for which the return is calculated;
3. in case the achieved nominal return is higher than the risk-free return for the respective period, determined according to item 9 of Annex No. 15, the value of the Sharpe ratio is also disclosed, calculated on an annual basis according to item 8 of Annex No. 15 from the data for the same period for which the return is calculated.

Art. 12. (Supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) (1) (Supp. - SG, No. 55 of 2021) By way of exception, the pension insurance company may publish data on the achieved return in the management of the assets of a fund for additional pension insurance for one-year periods before the introduction of shares in the maintenance of individual accounts, in which case information on the level of investment risk in the management of the assets of the fund is not disclosed.

(2) The data under para. 1 must be officially disclosed by the State Agency for Insurance Supervision or the Commission for Financial Supervision, with the methodology by which the return was calculated necessarily described.

Art. 12a. (New - SG, No. 55 of 2021) (1) The public disclosure of the achieved return and the level of investment risk in the management of a fund for making payments is carried out, observing the requirements of Section II.

(2) The pension insurance company by March 31 of each year publicly discloses information on the achieved annual return and the level of investment risk in the management of each fund for making payments, which contains:

1. the achieved return in percent in the management of the assets of the fund for each consecutive calendar year of the previous five-year period