National Concept for Promotion of Active Ageing

The National Concept for Promotion of Active Ageing (2012 – 2030) develops and builds on an important direction of the National Demographic Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria, i.e. Overcoming the effects of population ageing.

Through the National Concept of Active Ageing the Republic of Bulgaria aims to create conditions for economic growth, sustainable social system development, improved standard and quality of life of the people and building a cohesive society.

The National Concept for Promotion of Active Ageing offers a specific perspective for addressing the effects of population ageing in the context of an integrated approach reflecting the particular specifics of ageing.

            The National Concept for Promotion of Active Ageing identifies nine key operational goals which relate to:

• Ensuring equal opportunities for active employment of older people;
• Ensuring financial stability of the pension system and equal opportunities for active and dignified life in retirement age. Creating conditions to curb poverty among pensioners;
• Creating conditions to improve the standard of living of elderly people (including through creating opportunities to increase incomes, rehabilitate housing, modernize the living environment);
• Ensuring equal opportunities for access to health services and increasing the life expectancy in good health for elderly people;
• Ensuring equal opportunities for access to education, lifelong learning, qualification improvement and requalification  with a view to improving labour market mobility;
• Developing and modernizing long-term care and ensuring equal opportunities for access to social services;
• Development of voluntary work;
• Development of the so-called “silver economy”;
• Overcoming the negative stereotypes and building a positive public image of older people.

The National Comprehensive Strategy for Active Ageing in Bulgaria (2016-2030) was developed on the basis of the National Concept for Promoting Active Ageing in Bulgaria (2012-2030), adopted by the Council of Ministers with Protocol № 24/20.06.2012. It is a further development of Direction 7 of the Updated National Strategy for Demographic Development of the Population in the Republic of Bulgaria (2012-2030), adopted with Protocol № 4/01.02.2012 by the Council of Ministers: ”Implementing a comprehensive cross-sectoral approach to enable active, healthy and productive ageing; Adapting social systems to demographic changes and population ageing, incl. labour market, pension system, social assistance and care, health, education, culture, etc.”

The strategic goal is creating conditions for active and worthy life of elder people by providing equal opportunities for their full-fledged participation in economic and social life.

The implementation of the strategic goal should produce the following outputs:

• Active and independent ageing
• Active participation of elder people in all aspects of social life
• Healthy ageing and support to elder people to develop their full potential, guaranteeing them a life of dignity and independence
• Created institutional capacity for coordination and implementation of the Strategy at national and regional level

The operational objectives include:

Operational objective 1: To create conditions for active working life of elder people.

Operational objective 2: To adapt the social security and the pension system to population ageing while ensuring financial stability, conditions for active and decent life in retirement age and for curbing poverty among retired people.

Operational objective 3: To ensure access to education, lifelong learning, training and retraining of elder people with a view to improving their labour market mobility.

Operational objective 4: To encourage participation of elder people in all spheres of social life, in cultural, sport and community  activities.

Operational objective 5: To promote  volunteering.

Operational objective 6: To ensure equal access to health services and increase life expectancy in good health of elder people.

Operational objective 7: To create conditions for independent ageing, out of poverty and in adequate and safe housing conditions, by developing, upgrading and improving the quality of integrated long-term care, equal access to social services, developing the so-called “silver economy”.

Operational objective 8: To build capacity at the national and at the regional level for the design and establishment of active ageing policies.