Social minister Natalia Efremova said at the "Young Talents 50+" forum in Sofia that people aged 50 and over have potential and should get support in the job market. As representatives of the state, she added, they see this clearly.
She called on people of this age to keep building their skills.
Efremova said 50 is no longer a limit but an age of experience, maturity and real-life knowledge. "It is a fact that 50+ is the new age of success, and this is not a cliché," she said.
The minister said people over 50 can mentor younger colleagues, while others can start a new kind of work. Combining their skills with those of younger staff can be the key to a company's success, she said.
Efremova said Bulgaria's working-age population is shrinking, so officials must think about how to bring everyone of that age into the job market and keep them there. She pointed to national programmes for free training and subsidised jobs, which are linked to the arrival of artificial intelligence and digital technology.
At the end of 2025, more than 1.5 million people in Bulgaria were over 65, the minister said. She said this is one in four people of retirement age.