Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

Italy - Old-age benefits

This chapter explains when you are entitled to:

  • old age pension (pensione di vecchiaia), or, if certain requirements are met, to
  • early old pension (pensione anticipata), or to the
  • minimum pension (Integrazione al trattamento minimo)
  • Early retirement allowance (A.PE Sociale – Anticipo pensionistico)
  • Early retirement flexible pension (Pensione Anticipata Flessibile or “Quota 103”)

The recent reform in this area has extended the contribution calculation method to all workers, provided for adjustment of the pension age for access to the old age pension based on increased life expectancy and increased flexibility in accessing retirement with the early old age pension.

In what situation can I claim?

If you are an insured worker (employed or independent), you are protected from the risk of loss of ability to work due to old age.

You are entitled to old age benefits if:

  • you have accrued at least 20 years of contributions;
  • you have met the new minimum age requirements (adjusted over time based on life expectancy) which is 67 years for both men and women (applying till 2026);
  • you have stopped working.

If your first work insurance dates as of January 1996, in the absence of the required 20 years of contributions, you are entitled to the old-age pension with a minimum of 5 years of contributions and 71 + 3 months years of age, but deemed contributions will not be taken into account.

You may be entitled to the new welfare-based Early retirement allowance (A.PE Sociale - Anticipo Pensionistico) to bridge to the old age pension if:

  • you are 63 or over;
  • you have accrued at least 30 years of effective work insurance (minus 1 year per child, up to 2 years at most, of deemed contributions if you are a female worker);
  • you have accrued 36 years of contributions while performing an arduous job (32 years of contributions, if you are a building industry employee);
  • having ceased a gainful activity.

What conditions do I need to meet?

To qualify for the statutory old age pension, in addition to at least 20 years of contributions, you must have reached the pension age of 67 (applying till the end of 2025).

For the statutory early retirement pension (pensione anticipata), however, in 2023, you must have accrued:

  • a minimum of 42 years and 10 months of contributions if you are a man;
  • a minimum of 41 years and 10 months of contributions if you are a woman.

The first pension payment will be received 3 or 6 months after acquiring entitlement, if you are an employee or a civil servant, respectively.

If you were first insured after 01/01/1996 and have accrued a work insurance of at least 20 years, you may retire earlier at the age of 64 upon condition that the amount of the pension you would be entitled to is at least equal to 2.8 times the monthly amount of the welfare-based social allowance assegno sociale, equal to €503.27 in 2023 (see under the chapter dealing with social inclusion and income support measures).

Other experimental schemes:

If you are a female employee who has turned 60 by the end of 2022 (58 if you are at risk of being made redundant or fired by companies undergoing industrial crisis), and you are a caregiver to a disabled family member or your capacity for work is reduced by 74% or more, and you have completed 35 years of contributions by 31st December 2022, you can be entitled to early retirement, so called “Opzione donna”. Under this scheme, your pension will be entirely calculated according to the contribution related calculation system (instead of applying the hybrid system) and you will receive your first pension payment 12 months (if you are an employee) or 18 months (if you are a self-employed) after acquiring entitlement.

Insured mothers opting for this scheme are entitled to an age reduction by 1 year per each child, up to a maximum of 2 years.

Unless you are a professional, a clergyman, a serviceman or a custom officer, you can be entitled to the early, flexible retirement pension, so called "pensione anticipata flessibile" or “Quota 103” from January till December 2023, if you are at least 62 and have completed 41 years of contributions (35 of which in relation to actual work). Under this scheme, the first pension payment will be received 3 and 6 months after acquiring entitlement if you are a private sector employee or a civil servant, respectively. The pension cannot be combined with earned income above €5,000 per year. But, if, despite qualifying for the “Quota 103” pension scheme, you decide to continue working, you will be exempted from paying your 9.19% contributions’ rate (8.80% if you are a civil servant) resulting in an increase in your monthly salary.

If the amount of your statutory pension is below the 'living minimum', it may be combined with the 'minimum income', provided that your contributions started before 1 January 1996 and your personal income or that of your household is not greater than certain annual limits.

For 2022, the annual minimum supplement is equal to €6,816.48.

For the Early retirement allowance, you must also meet one of the following qualifying conditions:

  • not being already in receipt of a pension of your own;
  • being a long-term unemployed with scarce chance of finding new job;
  • having completed at least 18 months of effective work contributions in the 36 months prior to unemployment;
  • having been assessed as disabled by a degree equal to or higher than 74%;
  • having been providing assistance as caregiver for at least 6 months to the disabled cohabiting spouse or partner or first degree family member.

What am I entitled to and how can I claim?

If, on 31 December 1995, you had accrued at least 18 years of contributions, your pension will be calculated using the pay-based method for the contribution period up to December 2011 and the contribution-based method from 1 January 2012.

If, on 31 December 1995, you had accrued less than 18 years of contributions, your pension will be calculated using the mixed system (also called 'pro-rata'): pay-based for the period up to December 1995 and contribution-based thereafter.

Finally, if you started paying contributions after 1 January 1996, your pension will be entirely calculated using the contribution-based calculation system.

The pay-based calculation system is based on the average weekly pay received during the last years of work and the total amount of paid contributions multiplied by a transformation rate, based on the ISTAT index of the cost of living.

The contribution-based calculation system, on the other hand, looks at contributions paid, obtaining the total amount of contributions paid into the pension scheme which is then transformed into a pension by applying the transformation coefficient (which varies according to age).

In other words, the total amount of contributions is the sum of money on which the pension is calculated. When claiming retirement benefits, the individual amount, the so-called final contribution amount, is multiplied by a transformation coefficient which varies based on the age of the applicant, to obtain the gross annual pension amount of the worker. The contribution amount is assessed annually, applying the 'annual capitalisation rate' (equal to 1.01899 till December2022).

The same formula also applies to the Early retirement allowance, but the relevant allowance is paid for 12 months, instead of 13, and cannot exceed €1,500 gross per month.

Jargon busters

  • INPS: National Social Security Institute;
  • Employee organisations and tax assistance centres (Patronati, CAF): authorised centres which assist the user with compiling and electronically submitting benefit claims (this assistance is totally free-of-charge);
  • ISTAT: Institute for National Statistics;
  • Contribution amount: the individual contribution amount is the sum of all contributions set aside every year over the course of the working life;
  • Early retirement allowance (known as A.pe. sociale): bridging to the old age pension.

Forms you may need to fill in

Your pension claim is submitted online to the relevant social security institution, from whose website you can download the forms to be filled in. Electronic submission requires a second level SPID (Public Digital Identity System) or a CIE (Electronic Identity Card) or a CNS (National Service Card) log in. It is possible to request free assistance from Patronati organisations.

Know your rights

The following national link provide information about the social security rights provided for by Italian law:

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:

Who do you need to contact?

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

Official independent professionals’ schemes’ websites; list at the end of Chapter 1

Employee organisations and tax assistance centres (Patronati, CAF)

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