Pension requirements

The right to a pension is acquired, regardless of age, with at least 40 years of contributions.

From 1 January 2008, female employees who opt for the settlement of their pension under the calculation rules of the contributory system (Legislative Decree 180 of 1997) may access seniority retirement with 35 years of contributions and 57 years of age.

Old-age requirement as at 31.12.2011:

• women: 61 years + 20 years of contributions
• men: 65 years + 20 years of contributions

The age requirement for access to the old-age pension for persons enrolled in schemes exclusive to the compulsory general insurance system, who become entitled to a pension from 1 January 2012 onwards, is set at 66 years, with a minimum contribution record of 20 years.

For workers whose first contribution credit starts after 1 January 1996, without prejudice to the minimum age limit of 66 years and the contribution requirement of 20 years, access to retirement is conditional upon the amount of the pension, which must be no less than 1.5 times the amount of the social allowance; this amount is revalued annually on the basis of the average five-year change in nominal GDP, specifically calculated by ISTAT, with reference to the five-year period preceding the year to be revalued. In any case, for a given year, that amount may not be less than 1.5 times the monthly amount of the social allowance established for the same year.

This minimum amount requirement does not apply if the person has reached the age of seventy years, without prejudice to an effective contribution record of five years. “Effective contributions” means only contributions, whether compulsory or voluntary, that have actually been paid and credited, thus excluding notional contributions.

Considering that the entry requirements for the pension system must be adjusted to increases in life expectancy pursuant to Article 12 of Decree-Law no. 78 of 31 May 2010, converted with amendments by Law no. 122 of 30 July 2010, as subsequently amended and supplemented, from 1 January 2013 the age requirement of 66 years is increased by 3 months.

The requirements laid down from 1 January 2012 for entitlement to the old-age pension, for female and male workers, are set out in the table.

Under the contribution-based calculation system, in addition to the above requirements, the amount of the pension must be no less than 1.5 times the amount of the social allowance, except in cases of access to retirement at 70 years of age (in this case the minimum effective contributions required are 5 years).

Workers who meet, by 31 December 2011, the age and contribution record requirements laid down by the legislation in force on that date retain entitlement to the pension benefit under that legislation, both for the purposes of entitlement and for the purposes of the relevant starting date.

Persons who meet the requirements for access to retirement from 1 January 2012 may access early retirement provided that they have completed a contribution record of 42 years and 1 month for men and 41 years and 1 month for women.
The requirements laid down from 1 January 2012 for entitlement to early retirement are set out in the table.

A reduction equal to 1 percentage point is applied to the portion of the pension benefit relating to contribution periods accrued before 1 January 2012 for each year by which retirement is taken earlier than the age of 62; this reduction is increased to 2 percentage points for each additional year of advance beyond two years (that is, before the age of 60). If the retirement age is not a whole number, the percentage reduction is proportional to the number of months.

The above percentage reductions do not apply, limited to persons who meet the required contribution record requirement by 31 December 2017, where the aforementioned contribution record derives exclusively from actual work performed, including periods of compulsory maternity leave, fulfilment of compulsory military service, injury, illness and ordinary wage supplementation scheme.

A reduction equal to 1 percentage point is applied to the portion of the pension benefit relating to contribution periods accrued before 1 January 2012 for each year by which retirement is taken earlier than the age of 62; this reduction is increased to 2 percentage points for each additional year of advance beyond two years (that is, before the age of 60). If the retirement age is not a whole number, the percentage reduction is proportional to the number of months.

The above percentage reductions do not apply, limited to persons who meet the required contribution record requirement by 31 December 2017, where the aforementioned contribution record derives exclusively from actual work performed, including periods of compulsory maternity leave, fulfilment of compulsory military service, injury, illness and ordinary wage supplementation scheme.