Instruction No. 1 of 28.07.2026 on the procedure, manner, and criteria for the official distribution of persons who have not chosen a fund for additional mandatory pension insurance, and determining deviations from achieved returns

INSTRUCTION No. 1 of 28.07.2026 on the procedure, manner, and criteria for the official distribution of persons who have not chosen a fund for additional mandatory pension insurance, and determining deviations from achieved returns Promulgated - SG, issue 74 of 18.08.2026, effective from 01.01.2027 Adopted by the Financial Supervision Commission with Decision No. 298-I of 28 July 2026 and by the Management Board of the National Revenue Agency with Decision No. RMF-6 of 5.08.2026

Section I General Provisions Art. 1. This instruction defines:

1. the procedure and manner for the official distribution of persons who have not chosen a universal pension fund or a professional pension fund;
2. the criteria for the official distribution of persons by sub-funds in a universal pension fund and by professional pension funds;
3. the deviations of the achieved returns in the management of sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds from the value of the indicators announced by the Financial Supervision Commission. Art. 2. Persons for whom the obligation to be insured in a universal or professional pension fund has arisen are officially distributed in cases where they have not submitted an individual application for participation in the manner and within the deadlines provided for in Art. 137, para. 11 and Art. 140, para. 3 of the Social Security Code (SSC), including when they have submitted an application for participation in more than one universal, respectively professional pension fund, or the submitted application is irregular.

Section II Procedure for Official Distribution Art. 3. (1) The official distribution of persons under Art. 2 is carried out by a commission established at the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The chairman of the commission is a representative of the NRA, appointed by order. The commission consists of five members - two representatives of the NRA, one representative of the Financial Supervision Commission, and one representative each from two of the licensed pension insurance companies, pre-determined on a random basis through rotation for each official distribution. Pension insurance companies that have already participated in the official distribution are not included in the rotation until all licensed pension insurance companies have successively taken part in the official distribution. (2) The official distribution is carried out four times a year - within 10 working days after the first working day of February, May, August, and November. (3) The results of the official distribution are formalized with protocols, to which the data under Art. 6, para. 1 and 3 are attached. The protocols also record the pension insurance companies determined under para. 1, which are to nominate representatives for the next official distribution. (4) The chairman of the commission sends the information under para. 3, second sentence, to the pension insurance companies within 7 days of drawing up the protocol. (5) The official distribution is considered valid if the protocol under para. 3 is signed by at least three of the attending members of the commission. Art. 4. (1) All persons for whom the conditions under Art. 2 are met as of the day preceding the respective distribution are subject to official distribution. No later than the end of the working day preceding the respective official distribution under Art. 3, para. 2, the NRA forms the aggregates of persons subject to official distribution in universal pension funds, according to their age under Art. 137, para. 13 of the SSC as of the date of its execution, and a separate aggregate of persons subject to official distribution in professional pension funds. (2) The aggregates under para. 1 are prepared after:

1. comparing the data from the NRA register of insured persons in universal pension funds with the data submitted according to Art. 5, para. 4 of the SSC, and according to the age reached by the persons as of the date of the official distribution;
2. comparing the data from the NRA register of insured persons in professional pension funds with the data submitted according to Art. 5, para. 4 of the SSC, for persons working under conditions of first and second category labor. (3) Deceased persons for whom the NRA has information are excluded from the aggregates under para. 1. (4) Persons who have exercised their right to a pension for insurance length of service and age are excluded from the aggregate of persons subject to official distribution in a professional pension fund. (5) When the aggregate of persons subject to official distribution in professional pension funds and sub-funds in universal pension funds is smaller than the number of registered funds, respectively sub-funds, the procedure under Art. 9, para. 2 applies.

Section III Manner and Criteria for Official Distribution Art. 5. The official distribution of persons who have not chosen a universal pension fund in accordance with Art. 2 and within the deadline under Art. 137, para. 11 of the SSC, into sub-funds with different investment profiles in registered universal pension funds, is carried out based on the age of the insured persons under Art. 137, para. 13 of the SSC as of the day of distribution, as follows:

1. in a dynamic sub-fund - up to the age of 50;
2. in a balanced sub-fund - from 50 years of age up to three years before reaching the age of the person under Art. 68, para. 1 of the SSC;
3. in a conservative sub-fund - a person for whom three years or less remain until reaching their age under Art. 68, para. 1 of the SSC. Art. 6. (1) Persons under Art. 2 are officially distributed into sub-funds in registered universal pension funds, respectively into registered professional pension funds, based on the following criteria:
4. achieved annual return in the management of each sub-fund in a universal pension fund and each professional fund, reported at the end of the quarter preceding the official distribution, based on the previous 5-year period;
5. amount of deductions charged by pension insurance companies under Art. 201, para. 1, item 1 of the SSC for each sub-fund in a universal pension fund, respectively for each professional pension fund, for the quarter preceding the official distribution;
6. number of accepted individual applications for participation in a universal or professional pension fund for the quarter preceding the official distribution. (2) The data under para. 1, items 1 and 2 and para. 3 are provided to the NRA by the Financial Supervision Commission. A report on the number of accepted individual applications under para. 1, item 3 is prepared by the NRA. (3) For sub-funds in a universal pension fund and for professional pension funds established after January 1, 2027, for which a 5-year period has not elapsed since the transfer of the first insurance contribution to their account, the average weighted return of sub-funds or funds of the same type participating in the official distribution according to the criterion under para. 1, item 1 for the respective quarter is accepted as the achieved return. The average weighted return under the first sentence is calculated on an annual basis, with the weight of each sub-fund or fund being the value of its net assets in the total sum of the net assets of sub-funds or funds of the same type, as of the working day before the last working day of the quarter preceding the official distribution. Art. 7. (1) The number of persons subject to official distribution in sub-funds in universal or professional pension funds is divided by criteria depending on the weight of each criterion. (2) The weights of the criteria are as follows:
7. for the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 1 - 45 percent;
8. for the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 2 - 45 percent;
9. for the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 3 - 10 percent. Art. 8. (1) The total number of persons subject to official distribution for each sub-fund in a universal pension fund or for each professional pension fund is determined as the sum of the numbers according to the respective criteria. (2) The number of officially distributed persons for each sub-fund in a universal pension fund or for each professional pension fund according to the individual criteria is determined as follows:
10. directly proportional to the difference between the annual return achieved by the sub-fund or professional pension fund, reported at the end of the quarter preceding the official distribution, based on the previous 5-year period, and the values of the annual indicators announced by the Financial Supervision Commission, reduced by the respective deviations under para. 3 and reported at the end of the same quarter, according to the formulas specified in Annex No. 1;
11. inversely proportional to the amount of the deduction charged by the pension insurance company under Art. 201, para. 1, item 1 of the SSC for the respective sub-fund in a universal pension fund and for a professional pension fund for the quarter preceding the official distribution, and according to the formulas specified in Annex No. 2;
12. directly proportional to the number of accepted individual applications for participation in a universal pension fund or a professional pension fund for the quarter preceding the official distribution, and according to the formulas specified in Annex No. 3. (3) The deviations of the achieved return under Art. 6, para. 1, item 1 from the value of the respective indicator, announced by the Commission, are determined for each sub-fund in a universal pension fund and for a professional pension fund, as follows:
13. for a dynamic sub-fund in a universal pension fund - 3 (three) percentage points;
14. for a balanced sub-fund in a universal pension fund and for a professional pension fund - 1.75 (one point seventy-five) percentage points;
15. for a conservative sub-fund in a universal sub-fund - 1.25 (one point twenty-five) percentage points. (4) Sub-funds in universal pension funds and professional pension funds, whose achieved return is lower than the announced indicator, reduced by the deviation under para. 3 at the end of the quarter preceding the official distribution, do not participate in the official distribution according to the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 1. (5) When no sub-fund in a universal pension fund of the respective type, respectively no professional pension fund, participates in the official distribution according to the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 1, the number of persons subject to distribution is divided according to the remaining criteria under Art. 6 with the following weights:
16. for the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 2 - 90 percent;
17. for the criterion under Art. 6, para. 1, item 3 - 10 percent. Art. 9. (1) Based on the principle of random selection from the aggregates under Art. 4, para. 1, a number of persons equal to the integer part of the total number under Art. 8, para. 1 for each sub-fund or fund are distributed into each of the sub-funds in registered universal pension funds and into each of the registered professional pension funds. (2) After the distribution under para. 1, the remaining undistributed persons are distributed by the commission based on the principle of random selection of a sub-fund, respectively a professional pension fund. Art. 10. (1) Within 7 days from the date of the official distribution under Art. 3, para. 2, the NRA provides each pension insurance company with lists on electronic media of the officially distributed persons in the sub-funds managed by it in a universal pension fund and a professional pension fund. (2) The protocols for official distribution under Art. 3, para. 3 and the lists under para. 1 are stored at the NRA.

Additional Provision § 1. For the purposes of this instruction: 1