The Government is considering a three-year measure to allow early retirement at 64 years old, providing for the calculation of the entire pension according to the contributory method. On the table is also the hypothesis of intervening on the minimum threshold currently required to access the pension, currently equal to 1,638.72 euros gross per month.
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The hypothesis was illustrated by the Undersecretary of Labor Claudio Durigon, who spoke on the sidelines of the presentation of a Valore D research dedicated to longevity in the world of work. The stated objective is to promote generational turnover, offering workers greater freedom of choice both on continuing their activity and on early retirement.
Retirement at 64 also for those who started before 1996
The novelty could expand a possibility currently reserved for workers fully included in the contributory system, that is, those who started paying contributions from 1996 onwards.
The possible new rule, valid in the period 2027-2029, could instead also concern those who started working before 1996 and fall under the mixed system. The condition would be to accept the recalculation of the entire pension with the contributory method, therefore based on the contributions actually paid.
Up to 180,000 people affected
According to the estimates considered by the Government, the measure could involve about 80,000 people already in the first year, reaching a total of about 180,000 beneficiaries over the three years.
However, the intervention would have a significant impact on public accounts: the estimated expenditure would be over 1.6 billion euros per year, for a total cost close to 5 billion over the three years.
The contribution requirements are still to be defined. Currently, to access this form of retirement, the minimum requirement is 20 years of contributions, in line with that provided for the old-age pension at 67 years, provided that at least the amount of the social allowance is reached. In 2026, the latter is set at 546.24 euros per month.
Among the hypotheses under study is the increase of the requirement up to 25 years of contributions.
From 2027, age and contributions required increase
The social security framework also already provides for some adjustments to the requirements. From 2027, an increase of one month is expected both in age and in the minimum contribution requirement, while from 2028 the increase should reach three months.
Part of the discussion focuses precisely on the economic threshold. Durigon explained that the intention is to avoid that the requirement could prevent exit for certain categories of workers.
«The goal we have is generational turnover. We are working on the rule on the amount. We do not want to create poor pensioners but for some categories, such as those without work, we can work to lower that quota or even cancel it,» said the undersecretary.
A modification of the threshold could therefore expand the pool, particularly among the unemployed and the most fragile categories, currently potentially excluded from the minimum requirement equal to three times the social allowance.
INPS: 65% more over 55s at work in six years
The issue of generational turnover was also addressed by the president of INPS, Gabriele Fava, who spoke at the same event.
According to Fava, in the last six years the number of employed over 55s has increased by 65%. A figure which, in his view, is linked both to the changes that have made access to the pension more difficult and to the demographic composition, with the entry into the older age group of the last baby boomers and the first members of Generation X.
«It is the sign of a country that works longer because the structure of the population has changed,» observed Fava, however emphasizing that increased longevity does not automatically mean being able to extend working activity for everyone.
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