Public Opinion on New Social Insurance, February 2000
date: 09.11.2000
The opinion poll among adult population in Sofia, conducted during the period 24th -27th January 2000 shows that 57 per cent of the active population is already aware of what insurance they have to pay as of the beginning of this year. However, 43 per cent are not clear about the amount and the way of paying the social insurance.
Unlike other elucidatory campaigns, this time the main burden fell on the press - 47 per cent have drawn information about social insurance form the newspapers, which means that their messages were most informative. Next come television (45%), social insurance experts (13%) and specialized editions (4%). 26 per cent declare they have had no access to adequate information.
However, another problem, more important than the fact that the population is not well informed, is the already evident negative attitude to the three aspects of the new system of social insurance, which are of paramount importance for each citizen - the amount of the insurance, how fair the new legislation is and the expected outcomes.
First, 42 per cent of the people consider the payments too high and the people will not able to pay them; 31 per cent think they are normal, and only 6 per cent think they are lower than the normal.
Second, the percentage (50%) of those who think the new social insurance system is unfairly devised is twice as much as those who are of the opinion that the principles it is based on are just (24%).
And third, the expected outcomes are not optimistic at all. 79 per cent of those questioned do not think it will secure higher pensions, 77 per cent do not expect people to be more concerned about paying their full insurance regularly, and just as many do not believe control over spending the funds will become stronger; hardly 30 per cent are of the opinion that insurance funds will function better.
The conclusion to be drawn form this express opinion poll is that the real social problem is not so much in the shortage of information or the lack of interest and concern among the population, as in the negative social attitudes resulting from the public debate. It is a well-known fact that the effective functioning of every law depends to a great extent on the support it gets from society. Taking into consideration that the new social code is regarded as unjust, the payments as high and the outcomes as contradicting the interests of the average citizen, making it function becomes a real problem.
