Ordinance No. 3 of 24.09.2003 on the Procedure and Method for Changing Participation and Transferring Accumulated Funds of an Insured Person from One Additional Pension Insurance Fund to Another Managed by a Different Pension Insurance Company

ORDINANCE No. 3 of 24.09.2003 on the Procedure and Method for Changing Participation and Transferring the Accumulated Funds of an Insured Person from One Fund for Additional Pension Insurance to Another Corresponding Fund Managed by Another Pension Insurance Company

Pub. - State Gazette, No. 90 of 10.10.2003; in force from 01.01.2004; amended and supplemented, No. 9 of 03.02.2004; amended, No. 85 of 28.09.2004; in force from 01.10.2004; amended, No. 50 of 17.06.2005; in force from 01.07.2005; corrected, No. 52 of 24.06.2005; amended, No. 7 of 24.01.2006; in force from 01.01.2006; amended and supplemented, No. 78 of 07.10.2011, in force from 01.01.2012; amended and supplemented, No. 1 of 05.01.2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 62 of 09.08.2016, in force from 15.08.2016; amended and supplemented, No. 10 of 30.01.2018, in force from 01.04.2018; amended, No. 94 of 13.11.2018, in force from 19.11.2018; amended and supplemented, No. 54 of 29.06.2021, in force from 01.07.2021; amended, No. 58 of 13.07.2021, in force from 01.09.2021; 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. 03-na of the Commission for Financial Supervision of 24.09.2003

Section I
General Provisions

Art. 1. (Suppl. - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) This Ordinance regulates the procedure and method for:

1. changing participation in a fund and transferring the accumulated amounts in the individual account of the insured person from one fund to another corresponding fund for additional mandatory pension insurance, managed by another pension insurance company;
2. transferring the accumulated funds in the individual account from one fund to another fund for additional voluntary pension insurance.
3. (new - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) transferring the accumulated funds from personal insurance contributions in the individual account from one fund to another fund for additional voluntary pension insurance under professional schemes.

Art. 1a. (New - SG, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) In cases of or in connection with changing participation and/or transferring the funds of insured persons under the conditions and procedure of this Ordinance, pension insurance companies, their shareholders, insurance intermediaries, or other persons may not provide, offer, or promise in any form special privileges, gifts, services, or other benefits to the insured persons.

Section II
Changing Participation in a Fund and Transferring the Accumulated Amounts in the Individual Account of the Insured Person from One to Another Corresponding Fund for Additional Mandatory Pension Insurance

Art. 2. (Amended and supplemented - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; amended, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) (1) (Amended - SG, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) In the cases under Art. 171, para. 1, 3 and 4 and Art. 340, para. 4, item 1 of the Social Insurance Code, the insured person may change their participation and transfer the accumulated amounts in their individual account from one to another corresponding fund for additional mandatory pension insurance, by submitting an application according to the form in Appendix No. 1 to the pension insurance company managing the fund to which they wish to transfer. (2) (Amended - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) The forms of applications under para. 1, hereinafter referred to as "applications for change of participation", shall be printed by each pension insurance company on white three-ply carbonless paper, A4 format, with black ink, and the serial number of the copy shall be placed in the lower left corner. On the back of the third copy, instructions for filling out the application according to Appendix No. 1 shall be printed. (3) (New - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) Electronic forms of the applications under para. 1 and of the insurance contracts concluded in connection with them shall be prepared in the format and with the content of the paper-based samples.

Art. 3. (Suppl. - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.10.2004; amended, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; suppl., No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018; amended and suppl., No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) (1) (Suppl. - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.10.2004; amended, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended in its entirety, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; suppl., No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 30.01.2018; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) The application for change of participation shall be submitted by the insured person as an electronic document in accordance with the Law on Electronic Document and Electronic Authentication Services (electronic application) or on paper medium and shall be accepted by an insurance intermediary or an employee authorized by the pension insurance company. (2) (Amended - SG, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 30.01.2018; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) Before accepting the application for change of participation, the employee shall identify themselves to the insured person with an official ID card, and the insurance intermediary - with the document under Art. 123g, para. 12 of the Social Insurance Code. (3) In cases where the application for change of participation is submitted on paper medium, the signature of the insured person on the first copy shall be certified by a notary. The electronic application shall be signed by the insured person with a qualified electronic signature. (4) The pension insurance company shall not accept a paper application without a notarial certification of the signature, an electronic application not signed with a qualified electronic signature of the insured person, nor an application with incomplete or incorrectly filled data. (5) (Amended - SG, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018.) Simultaneously with submitting the application for change of participation, the insured person shall also sign an insurance contract with the pension insurance company managing the fund to which they wish to transfer. The contract shall enter into force from the moment of termination in accordance with Art. 8, para. 1 of the insurance relationship with the pension insurance company where the person is insured. (6) The person accepting the application shall assign it an incoming number and date and fill in the data determined for the company in it and in the insurance contract. The company employee shall certify acceptance with name, position, and signature, and the insurance intermediary - with name, official number, and signature, after which they shall immediately return the last copy of the application and the second copy of the contract to the insured person. (7) (Amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) When the application for change of participation
and the insurance contract are submitted as electronic documents, electronic copies thereof, signed with the qualified electronic signature of the company, shall be sent to the email address of the person indicated in their electronic signature or in the application, on the day of their receipt by the company, or on the first working day after that date if the electronic documents are submitted outside working hours or on a non-working day. (8) In case of a change in the names or the unique civil number with which the insured person is registered in the corresponding pension fund, certified by the insured person, respectively scanned copies of official documents certifying this circumstance, must be attached to the application for change of participation. The application shall describe the attached documents and the change they certify. (9) The pension insurance company shall assist the person in performing all actions related to submitting the application for change of participation, to avoid harm to their interests due to lack of information or other reasons. (10) The pension insurance company shall provide the person submitting the application with current written information regarding the change of participation and the main characteristics of the fund managed by it. The information shall be prepared according to the form in Appendix No. 1a.

Art. 4. (Amended and supplemented - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) (1) (Amended - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) Applications for change of participation shall be entered into electronic registers, which all pension insurance companies managing funds for additional mandatory pension insurance are obliged to maintain.
(2) (Amended - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) The pension insurance company shall maintain only one register of applications for change of participation for each fund for additional mandatory pension insurance managed by it, ensuring a unique incoming number for each application.
(3) (Amended - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.01.2005; amended, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) The entry of the application for change of participation in the corresponding register shall be carried out within three working days from the day of its submission by the insured person.
(4) (Repealed - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.01.2005).

Art. 5. (Suppl. - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.10.2004; amended, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; suppl., No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) (1) (Suppl. - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.10.2004; amended, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended in its entirety, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) The procedures for changing participation in a fund for all persons with registered applications for change of participation during one quarter shall begin on the first working day of the month following that quarter. (2) Within three working days from the date under para. 1, the pension insurance company registering the submitted applications for change of participation shall notify in writing the companies in whose funds the respective persons are insured, handing over the two copies of each application and the documents attached to it via a handover protocol. (3) The company in whose fund the respective person is insured shall accept the submitted application for change of participation if it has a notarial certification of the signature, respectively signed with a qualified electronic signature of the person, is correctly filled out, and contains all necessary data. (4) (Amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) When the application for change of participation is not accepted in accordance with para. 3, the company to which it was submitted shall annul it, mark this circumstance on both copies and in the register under Art. 4, para. 2, and notify the person of the annulment within seven days by letter with return receipt, via insurance intermediary - in writing against signature, or by electronic message signed with a qualified electronic signature, if the person has chosen this method in the application. (5) A company accepting a handed-over application under para. 2 may rule on it with a refusal to consider or to change participation only on the grounds provided in Art. 6, para. 1 and 2. (6) The pension insurance company receiving applications under para. 2:
1. enters all accepted applications for change of participation into the registers of the corresponding funds;
2. fills in the data determined for it, including consents or reasoned refusals to consider an application or to change participation, in both copies of each application for change of participation;
3. (suppl. - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) returns via a handover protocol the first copy of each application for change of participation, filled with the corresponding data, to the company from which it received it, within 7 working days from its receipt, noting in the protocol the grounds for refusal or that applications under Art. 69b, para. 7 of the Social Insurance Code have been received for the respective persons via the National Insurance Institute.
(7) (Amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) When the application for change of participation is submitted as an electronic document:
1. the exchange of data and correspondence in accordance with the procedure and deadlines established in this Article shall be carried out electronically with a qualified electronic signature;
2. the company may indicate the data determined for it under para. 6, item 2, including consents or reasoned refusals to consider an application or to change participation, in a separate electronic document containing the incoming number and date of the application, and the names and unique civil number of the person, signed with a qualified electronic signature.

Art. 6. (Amended - SG, No. 9 of 2004; No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.10.2004; amended, No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.08.2005; amended in its entirety, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; amended, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018; amended and suppl., No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) (1) The pension insurance company shall refuse a change of participation for a person insured in a fund managed by it when, at the time of considering the application:
1. (amended - SG, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) the requirements of Art. 171, para. 1, 3 or 4 or Art. 340, para. 4, item 1 of the Social Insurance Code are not met;
2. within the deadline and procedure of Art. 5, para. 2, it has received from different pension insurance companies applications for change of participation for the same insured person.
(2) The pension insurance company may refuse to consider an application for change of participation when:
1. (amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) the names of the person do not match current data in the documents available to the company, and the documents under Art. 3, para. 8 are not attached to the application;
2. (amended - SG, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 01.04.2018; repealed, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021);
3. (new - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) in the fund from which the person wishes to change participation, there is no insured person with the unique civil number indicated in the application, and the documents under Art. 3, para. 8 are not attached to the application.
(3) (Amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) When the person is officially assigned, upon establishing discrepancies under para. 2, items 1 and 3, the pension insurance company shall request the necessary information from the National Revenue Agency before ruling, and update the data for the person.
(4) (Amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) In case of refusal, any person shall receive, upon request, a certified copy of the application for change of participation, respectively an electronic copy thereof or of the electronic document under Art. 5, para. 7, item 2, second sentence, from the company to which they submitted it, and may file an objection for reconsideration of the refusal within 7 days after the expiration of the deadline under Art. 5, para. 6, item 3. (5) The objection under para. 4 shall be submitted to the pension insurance company in whose pension fund the person is insured, via the pension insurance company managing the fund to which they wish to transfer. All written evidence in support shall be attached to the objection, and in cases of discrepancies under para. 2, item 1 - certified by the insured person, respectively scanned copies of official documents certifying the corresponding data. (6) The pension insurance company receiving objections shall hand them over on the first working day after the expiration of the deadline under para. 4 via a handover protocol to the corresponding pension insurance company that ruled with refusals, attaching to each objection the first copy of the application for change of participation. (7) (Amended - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) The pension insurance company that ruled with a refusal shall consider the objection within 3 working days and rule with a written reasoned decision, taking into account all presented evidence and newly arising circumstances. With its decision, the pension insurance company shall revoke the refusal, ruling with consent to change the participation of the insured person, or confirm the refusal on the same grounds. (8) The decision under para. 7 shall be prepared in three identical copies, two of which shall be compiled with the first and second copies of the application for change of participation. In the upper right corner of the application, the number and date of the decision shall be marked. (9) Within the deadline under para. 7, the pension insurance company issuing the decision shall send it to the person by letter with return receipt and return the first copy of the application to the company to which the person submitted it via a handover protocol. (10) In ruling on the applications and objections of the insured persons, the pension insurance company shall set out in the reasons the specific circumstances on which it bases its refusal. (11) (Amended - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) When the application for change of participation is submitted as an electronic document, the insured person may file an objection in accordance with the procedure and deadlines determined in para. 4 and 5, and electronically with a qualified electronic signature. In this case, the correspondence under para. 6 and 9 shall be carried out in the same manner, applying also the document under Art. 5, para. 7, item 2, if the refusal
is indicated in it. (12) The change of participation of the persons for whom the pension insurance company has revoked its refusal shall continue in accordance with the procedure and deadlines under Art. 7 - 9 inclusive.

Art. 7. (Suppl. - SG, No. 85 of 2004, in force from 01.10.2004; No. 50 of 2005, in force from 01.07.2005; amended in its entirety, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; amended and suppl., No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 62 of 2016, in force from 15.08.2016; amended, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 30.01.2018; amended and suppl., No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) (1) (Repealed - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016). (2) (Amended and suppl. - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) A person who has submitted an application for change of participation may withdraw it from the company to which they submitted it with a request according to the form in Appendix No. 5. The request shall be submitted on paper medium with a notarial certification of the signature, respectively as an electronic document signed with a qualified electronic signature of the insured person, via an employee or insurance intermediary of the company in the first sentence, via its insurance intermediary, by mail with a letter with return receipt, or via the company managing the fund in which the person is insured. The request must be received by the company in the first sentence by the 5th day of the month in which the funds are to be transferred. (3) (Repealed - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016). (4) (Repealed - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016). (5) (Amended - SG, No. 62 of 2016, in force from 15.08.2016.) Within three days from the expiration of the deadline under para. 2, the pension insurance companies shall exchange the following information:
1. the pension insurance companies in whose funds the persons are insured shall notify the pension insurance companies in which these persons have submitted applications for change of participation about:
a) (amended - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) the names and unique civil numbers of the persons for whom notification has been received from the National Revenue Agency that they have submitted applications for changing insurance under Art. 4b, para. 1, respectively - Art. 4v, para. 1 of the Social Insurance Code; b) (amended - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) the names and unique civil numbers of the persons for whom applications have been received in accordance with Art. 69b, para. 7 of the Social Insurance Code; c) (new - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) the names and unique civil numbers of the persons who have submitted applications for change of participation for whom information has been received that they have died.
2. the pension insurance companies in which the persons have submitted applications for change of participation shall notify the pension insurance companies in whose funds they are insured about:
a) the names and unique civil numbers of the persons who have submitted a request within the specified deadline to withdraw their application for change of participation; b) the bank account number to which the funds of the persons wishing to change participation shall be transferred.
(6) (Amended - SG, No. 10 of 2018, in force from 30.01.2018.) On the first working day after receiving the information under para. 5, the pension insurance company in which the person has submitted an application for change of participation shall send a notification, signed with an electronic signature, to the National Revenue Agency, containing data on the person determined in the contract under Art. 159, para. 8 of the Social Insurance Code. (7) The procedure for changing participation shall be terminated when:
1. there is a refusal to change participation or to consider the application;
2. the insured person has withdrawn the submitted application;
3. (amended - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) the pension insurance company has received notification from the National Revenue Agency of an application submitted by the insured person for changing insurance under Art. 4b, para. 1, respectively - Art. 4v, para. 1 of the Social Insurance Code;
4. (amended - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) the pension insurance company has received via the National Insurance Institute an application in accordance with Art. 69b, para. 7 of the Social Insurance Code.
5. (new - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) the insured person who submitted the application for change of participation has died.
(8) (New - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; amended, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) When an application under para. 7, item 4 or the information under para. 7, item 5 is received by the pension insurance company after the date of notification under para. 5, item 1, letter "b", respectively letter "v", it shall notify no later than the date under Art. 8, para. 2 the company to which the person has submitted their application for change of participation about their names and unique civil number and about the termination of the procedure. (9) (Previous para. 8, amended - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) In the cases under para. 7, items 1 and 2, the insured person may submit a new application for change of participation. (10) (New - SG, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016.) The notification between pension insurance companies under para. 5 and 8 shall be carried out electronically with a qualified electronic signature.

Art. 8. (Amended and supplemented - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012; amended and supplemented, No. 1 of 2016, in force from 01.01.2016; suppl., No. 10 of 2018, in force from 30.01.2018; amended and supplemented, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) (1) (Amended in its entirety - SG, No. 78 of 2011, in force from 01.01.2012.) The funds from the individual accounts of all persons with registered applications for change of participation during one quarter, regarding whom the procedure for changing participation has not been terminated in accordance with Art. 7, para. 7, shall be transferred simultaneously to the bank accounts of the corresponding funds for additional mandatory pension insurance. The insurance relationship with the pension insurance company in which the person wishing to change participation is insured shall be terminated on the day of the transfer of the funds. (2) (Suppl. - SG, No. 54 of 2021, in force from 01.07.2021.) The funds under para. 1 shall be transferred by the pension insurance companies on the dates 15 May - for persons with registered applications during the first quarter, 15 August - for persons with registered applications during the second quarter, 15 November - for persons with registered applications during the third quarter, 15 February - for persons with registered applications during the fourth quarter of the previous year or on the first working day of the month following the quarter, if the transfer date falls on a non-working day.