Within 14 days, they announce whether the pension funds finance related parties – 2024-09-17 00:20:21

/View.info/Ph.D. Nikola Abadjiev, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Insurance Companies, in a conversation with Iliana Benovska in the weekly overview program “On the 6th day” of “Radio K2”, stated positions on the following topics:

“On Thursday night you went to bed privateers, on Friday night you went to bed nationalized pension funds?”Mrs. Iliana Benovska asked her first question to her interlocutor, Dr. Nikola Abadjiev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Insurance Companies.

“Private pension funds are not private, they are people’s pension funds!”explained Mr. Abadjiev. He continued by saying that pension insurance companies are licensed joint-stock companies that are private, but the state and the law have assigned them to manage the funds of the insured persons that are invested in the pension funds.

“Why are you afraid of the word privates? Is that a dirty word?’asked Mrs. Benovska.

“It’s not an offensive word, but the essence of pension funds must still be explained!”answered Nikola Abadjiev.

“Still, people who are not specialists listen to us. Are pension funds private or not private?’Iliana Benovska continued.

“Pension funds are not private because they are not owned by the pension insurance companies, which are private. Only insured persons who have chosen the relevant fund participate in them. Pension insurance companies have the obligation to invest and manage these funds in a good way, to ensure their profitability. Not a single lev can be taken from there in favor of the pension insurance companies, there can be no internal redistribution according to the law, and each individual lot must be guaranteed to be received by the respective insured person.”explained Dr. Abadjiev.

“Mr. Abadjiev, did you hear or at least read yesterday that Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stated that he asked the PG of GERB and, accordingly, the Committee on Budget and Finance to conduct a very serious parliamentary inspection regarding the funds and the activities of the Financial Supervisory Service for the licensing of the funds, and marveled that when he questioned journalists in Parliament, some said we had nine funds, some said there were ten, others said there were eleven, by which he emphasized that there was probably no good information campaign by the funds, about who they are, what they do, what is the meaning and benefit of their existence for people?’, asked the presenter Iliana Benovska to her interlocutor, on the air of “Radio K2”, Mr. Nikola Abadjiev.

Mr. Abadjiev said that he had not heard it. He explained that each pension company manages three pension funds. There are nine pension insurance companies and they manage 27 pension funds. “Many people do not differentiate between a pension fund and a pension insurance company.”said Nikola Abadjiev. He continued that every three months the FSC publishes the results of the activities of the pension funds. “The FSC has the duty to supervise the activities of pension funds on a daily, hourly basis.”explained Dr. Abadjiev. “Each insured person must be informed, we do, of the status of their individual account annually in writing, and in addition, any individual can at any time request information about the status of their account.”Mr. Abadjiev was categorical.

How many individual lots are there in total in these 27 funds?

“4 million and 290 thousand lot numbers.”answered Nikola Abadjiev.

How many people objected to last night’s amendments to the DOO?

“We don’t have such statistics. Some people have applied directly to the Association, others to the pension funds where they are insured. “said Mr. Abadjiev.

“Mr. Abadjiev, can you guarantee in writing, if I ask you under the law on access to information, that the pension insurance companies, respectively their divisions, do not participate in the financing of related parties?” asked Mrs. Iliana Benovska.

“If I give you such information, it will be based on the information of the FSC. The association does not have such control functions, does not have such opportunities, is not obliged and we do not have the right to carry out such control.answered Nikola Abadjiev categorically.

“Yes, but in this way there will be a double certification – if you ask the FSC for an answer, whether the pension insurance companies work with related parties, and you will initial it that you accept it, that it is so.” Right? Can we do this and in what timeframe?’asked Mrs. Benovska.

“Of course.”said Mr. Abadjiev.

“According to the Law on Public Information, you must answer me within 14 days, 14 working days. Can you fit in it?Iliana Benovska continued.

“I’ll try to fit in that time frame, of course.” Nikola Abadjiev promised.

“I will expect up to 14 working days to receive a response. I refer you verbally.’Mrs. Benovska also said.

“I will talk to the gentlemen from the FSC, they will give an opinion about the related persons and I will answer you.”answered Mr. Abadjiev.

“Thank you very much for this willingness, because this is important for society. It is in your interest to dispel the suspicion that pension insurance companies are financing related parties.’added the presenter of the weekly review program “On the 6th day” on “Radio K2”, Mrs. Iliana Benovska.

“I told you that you will receive an answer and we will have occasions to talk in the future, because there will be additional decisions, what will be the order and the way of implementing the choice of a universal pension fund, not all documents have been accepted yet.“, finished the conversation Dr. Nikola Abadjiev.