This chapter explains the relevant means of management and funding provided for each area of social security, according to the type of benefit, or through contributions or general taxation.

The different types of benefit can then be looked at in the following chapters, in the order listed below:

• health services;
• sickness compensation;
• maternity and paternity pay;
• incapacity and disability benefit;
• old age pensions;
• survivors' pensions;
• benefits in case of accidents at work or occupational disease;
• family benefits;
• unemployment benefit;
• social inclusion and income support measures;
• civil incapacity and long-term care benefits.

How is State social protection managed and funded?

The Italian social security system is funded by contributions paid by employed workers, employers, independent workers and self-employed workers, as well as through general taxation.

The National Health Service (SSN) is funded by all residents of Italy through taxes, as well as through co-payment of the cost of medicines and health services through payment of what is referred to as the 'ticket', and managed by the individual regions through the Local Health Authorities (LHA).

If you belong to any of the categories of workers indicated below, you are insured by the National Institute for Social Security (INPS):

• employees of the private sector signed up to the Employed Workers Pension Fund (FLPD), including agricultural workers, cooperative members and apprentices;
• employees in the public sector;
• independent workers (merchants, artisans, sharecroppers, farmers and tenant farmers) registered with the relevant special schemes;
• self-employed workers (coordinated and continuous workers, and occasional workers, door-to-door salesmen, professionals without a pension, occasional independent workers) registered with a separate scheme.

The INPS also manages certain special social security schemes and funds for certain categories of workers such as: clergy, civil aviation flight staff, and miners.

Other Bodies under private law (Casse) manage your obligatory social security and support if you belong to a certain category of professionals, such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, notaries, etc. registered with the specific pension Scheme or Fund. Social security and assistance for journalists is managed by the National Institute for Social Security (INPS) as from July 2022.

The National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) manages the insurance system, funded through contributions paid by employers, which protects workers in case of:

• accidents;
• death in the workplace;
• occupational disease.

The INAIL provides:

• temporary benefits;
• annuities in the event of permanent disability;
• compensation in the event of death.

How are social security benefits funded?

The employer must comply with all necessary formalities for employed workers: the obligation to pay contributions derives directly from conclusion of an employment contract.

Social security contributions are calculated on a percentage basis relative to gross income: the company is responsible for part of it, and you, as the worker, are responsible for the remaining part. Your contributions are taken directly out of your pay cheque: the employer subtracts a sum from your pay and then pays it to the INPS.
For most categories of workers, the amount of contributions is based on actual pay; for others, on conventional remuneration.

The amount of your contributions is fixed by law and varies depending on the company's sector of activity (industry, business, artisanship, credit, insurance, etc.) and based on the number of employees, geographic location, your job title, etc.

To determine the tax base for calculation of social security contributions, remuneration is considered to be everything that you receive from the employer, in cash or in kind, through the working relationship, gross of any withholding tax, with the exception of salary items provided for by law.

Your gross daily pay must not be less than a minimum limit established by collective bargaining agreements within that category or by law directly.

Payment of contributions is generally made on a monthly basis.

If you are a self-employed, you are directly responsible for signing up to a mandatory scheme and for paying your contributions through the special INPS scheme.

The contributions you must pay are calculated based on the total company income you declare for the purposes of income tax on natural persons (IRPEF) for the year to which the contributions correspond. If you belong to certain categories of self-employed, special provisions apply, such as in the case of family workers (for which the contribution amount is calculated by applying a reduced percentage if the worker is under 21).

What kinds of contributions entitle me to social security benefits?

In addition to obligatory contributions directly linked to carrying out work activity, your 'individual account' as an insured person can be increased, upon specific request or automatically, in cases expressly provided for by law, through:

• voluntary contributions, paid to cover periods in which no contributions are made or to supplement coverage in periods in which you carried out part-time work;
• figurative contributions, credited upon request, for periods in which you did not carry out any work (e.g. military service, political or racial persecution, natural disasters, accident at work or occupational disease), or recognised as relating to periods in which you received certain compensation (e.g. NASpl or DIS-COLL, illness, tuberculosis, pregnancy and post-natal, parental leave, integration of contributions for workers with reduced working capacity, support for relatives suffering from serious disability, solidarity agreements, free blood donation, leave of absence for public or trade union duties, work for the public good and in the public interest);
• redemption contributions paid on your request and credited based on specific legislative norms for periods in which: a) you did not work (e.g. official duration of a degree course); b) although you were working, your employer did not pay the relevant contributions on your behalf and the limitation period, as provided by law, of the obligation to pay contributions came into force, in relation to their obligations; c) you worked abroad, in countries with which Italy has not signed social security agreements.

Contributions may be credited free of charge (figurative contributions) or after payment of a sum (redemption fee) determined based on remuneration or income you received during the period prior to the date you submitted the request. Payments made for a class lower than that in which you are categorised will lead to a proportionate reduction in the number of weekly contributions you have accrued.

For the payment of the New Social Employment Insurance (NASpl) contributions, the Italian law has provided for a distinction between the relevant contribution paid by the employers: a contribution of 1.4% (in addition to the ordinary contribution of 1.61%) has been introduced for fixed-term contracts (to be applied retroactively also to employment contracts which commenced prior to the entry into force of the unemployment reform law), in order to discourage short-term employment contracts. These additional contributions will be reimbursed to 'good' employers who decide to transform fixed-term contracts into permanent contracts. For the payment of Dis-Coll a monthly contribution of 1.61% has to be paid by the “new” self-employed and by para-subordinate workers assimilated to employees (as provided for under Article 7 of Law No. 232 of 11 December 2016). Professionals with VAT registration number pay a monthly contribution of 0.26% of their pensionable income to cover the risk of partial loss of income, should they become eligible to ISCRO (Indennità straordinaria di continuità reddituale e operativa – as provided for under Article 1, para 398 of Law No. 178 of 30 December 2020 – Budget Law 2021). 1.06% of pensionable income covers self-employed unemployment benefit in the entertainment sector, so called ALAS (Indennità Disoccupazione Lavoratori Autonomi Spettacolo) and 2.22% covers self-employed sickness compensation (both are paid by the company who commissioned the job).

Jargon busters

• INPS: National Institute for Social Security.
• INAIL: National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work.
• FPLD: Employed Workers Pension Fund.
• Schemes for the professions: bodies under private law (Casse) which manage obligatory social security and assistance for the professions (a full list is given in Section 7 below).
• SSN: National Health Service.
• ASL: Local Health Authority.
• IRPEF: Income Tax on Natural Persons.

Forms you may need to fill in

Your employer must pay your contributions using the appropriate F24 form (if you are an independent worker, you must do this yourself), using the online payment procedure for joint payment of tax and contributions:

• contributions (INPS)
• premiums (INAIL)

You can access the so called Cassetto previdenziale aziende through the INPS new website, by using a second level SPID (Public Digital Identity System) or a CIE (Electronic Identity Card) or a CNS (National Service Card), to download the pre-compiled F24 form, to be used for joint payment of social security contributions and taxes; you can also print it in PDF format.

Know your rights

Relevant links are given below:

• INPS
• INAIL

Also, below is the link to access European Commission publications on coordination of social security rights for those who live or travel in the EU:

• http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=849&langId=en

Who do you need to contact?

List of supervisory bodies, social security institutes and entities, along with the corresponding websites:

Ministry for Employment and Social Policies
Via Flavia 6
00187 Rome RM ITALY
Toll-free number: + 39 800196196
e-mail: centrodicontatto@lavoro.gov.it
Website: http://www.lavoro.gov.it

Ministry of Health
Via Giorgio Ribotta 5
00144 Rome RM ITALY
Toll-free number: +39 800.571661
Website: http://www.ministerosalute.it

National Institute for Social Security (INPS)
Via Ciro il Grande 21
00144 Rome RM ITALY
Tel. +39 06803164 (normal operator rates apply)
Multi-channel Contact Centre - Toll-free number: 803.164 (free of charge) Website: http://www.inps.it

National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL)
Piazzale G. Pastore 6
00144 Rome RM ITALY
Tel. +39 0654871
Toll-free number: +803164 Website: http://www.inail.it

Professionals’ Pension schemes:

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza Medici (ENPAM) (Doctors)
Via Torino 38
00184 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpam.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza Farmacisti (ENPAF) (Pharmacists)
Viale Pasteur 49
00144 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpaf.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza Veterinari (ENPAV) (Veterinarians)
Via Castelfidardo 41
00185 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpav.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza per i consulenti del lavoro (ENPACL) (Employment consultants)
Viale del Caravaggio 78
00147 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpacl.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza per gli infermieri (ENPAPI) (Nurses)
Via Alessandro Farnese 3
00192 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpapi.it

Cassa Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza Infermieri professionali, Assistenti Sanitari, Vigilatrici d’infanzia (IPASVI) (Professional nurses, health professionals, childminders)
Lungo Tevere Dei Mellini 27
00193 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.ipasvi.it

Cassa Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza ingegneri e architetti (INARCASSA) (Engineers and architects)
Via Salaria 229
00199 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.inarcassa.it

Italian Surveyors' Social Security
Lungotevere Arnaldo da Brescia 4
00196 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.cassageometri.it

Cassa Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza Forense (Forensics workers)
Via Ennio Quirino Visconti 8
00193 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.cassaforense.it

Cassa Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza dottori commercialisti (Chartered accountants)
Via della Purificazione 31
00187 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.cnpadc.it

Cassa Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza ragionieri e periti commerciali (Accountants and business experts)
Via Pinciana 35
00198 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.cassaragionieri.it

Cassa Nazionale Notariato (Notaries)
Via Flaminia 160
00196 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.cassanotariato.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza a favore dei biologi (ENPAB) (Biologists)
Via di Porta Lavernale 12
00153 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpab.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza per gli psicologi (ENPAP) (Psychologists)
Via Andrea Cesalpino 1
00161 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpap.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza dei periti industriali (EPPI) (Industry experts)
Piazza della Croce Rossa 3
00161 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.eppi.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza ed Assistenza degli agronomi e forestali, degli attuari, dei chimici e dei geologi (EPAP) (Agronomists and forestry workers, actuaries, chemists and geologists)
Via Vicenza 7
00185 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.epap.it

Ente Nazionale di Assistenza per gli agenti e rappresentanti di commercio (ENASARCO) (Business agents and representatives)
Via Antoniotto Usodimare 53
00154 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enasarco.it

Fondo Nazionale Previdenza per gli agenti doganali (FASC) (Customs agents)
Via T. Gulli 39
20147 Milan MI ITALY
Website: http://www.fasc.it

Ente Nazionale Previdenza per gli addetti e gli impiegati in agricoltura (ENPAIA) (farming industry employees)
Viale Beethoven 48
00144 Rome RM ITALY
Website: http://www.enpaia.it