This chapter provides the theoretical framework for this dissertation. In the first section, I introduce key concepts and theoretical approaches from research on social policy in autocracies. I further discuss some theoretical considerations relevant to the analysis of social policy in authoritarian regimes. The second section focuses on the link between the legitimation patterns of authoritarian regimes and social policy. In this section, I draw on Steffen Kailitz’s (2013) legitimation approach to discuss theoretical considerations regarding the impact of various authoritarian regime types on social policy, in general, and on pension policy, in particular. In the third section, I take a theoretical perspective on the link between the ideological orientation of authoritarian regimes and social policy. I discuss some main theoretical expectations regarding the influence of right-wing and left-wing authoritarian regimes on core dimensions of pension policy. Following Kailitz’s (2013) legitimation approach and considering the ideological orientation of autocratic rule, in the final section, I classify the authoritarian regimes in Bulgaria in the period 1879–1989 and formulate concrete theoretical expectations regarding the influence of the different authoritarian subtypes on pension policy.