Employees and self-employed workers with incomes of at least half the basic salary - NOK33,406  - may claim sick pay. Under current legislation beneficiaries must also have worked for at least four weeks immediately prior to becoming unable to work.

The Bulgarian population is shrinking and aging. Bulgaria had a population of, approximately 7,930,000 in 2001 compared with 7,350,000 in 2011.

Agreement was reached on the introduction of a new National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) in July 2011.

The NHRA replaces the memoranda of understanding endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 13 February 2011 as well as the National Health and Hospitals Network Agreement ratified by the COAG (with the exception of Western Australia) in April 2010.

Under the 2010 retirement reform the statutory retirement age was to be increased progressively, reaching the age of 62 in 2018.

Certain technical changes have been made to old age and survivors' insurance (Assurance-vieillesse et survivants (AVS)) as from January 2012 pending a possible increase in the retirement age for women.