Social Bee 2024, new requirements and deadlines (the complete guide)

With circular no.
35/2024, the INPS confirmed the possibility of stopping working by resorting to the social Ape, the pension advance that the 2024 budget law extended for another year.
However, this year the Social Ape presents a negative change: with the measure the age requirement to be able to access this measure has been increased (although it still remains well below the 67 years required for the old-age pension).
It is important to specify that the Social Ape is not a measure for accessing a pension, but rather as an accompaniment measure: this means that you stop working and receive a replacement allowance (for 12 months a year) in the time remaining until you reach the retirement requirements.
access to pension.
The state is entirely responsible for this.
With the extension foreseen by the last budget, the innovations that were introduced in 2022 are also confirmed, with which the audience of potential beneficiaries of the Social Ape has been expanded by involving a greater number of workers employed in carrying out a demanding profession.
Social Ape 2024 Requirements Required contributions How much "pension" you get How and when to apply Requirements People who are at least 63 years and 5 months of age (and no longer 63) can access the Social Ape.
At the same time, other requirements must be met: for example, one must be part of one of the following categories: unemployed who have completely stopped receiving social safety net benefits at the time of application; people with civil disability equal to or greater than 74%; people who assist first-degree relatives with serious disabilities, the so-called caregivers; workers employed in heavy-duty activities.
To benefit from the free pension advance, these must demonstrate that they have carried out a demanding activity for at least 6 years in the last 7 or for at least 7 in the last 10.
The 2022 Budget law intervened on this last point, expanding the number of workers burdensome ones that can access the social Ape, also including the new professions identified by the specific commission chaired by the former Minister of Labor, Cesare Damiano.
In detail, the professions involved, identified on the basis of the Istat classification, indicated in Annex A of the maneuver, are the following: 2.6.4 – Primary, pre-primary school teachers and similar professions; 3.2.1 – Health technicians; 4.3.1.2 – Warehouse management workers and similar professions; 5.3.1.1 – Qualified professions in health and social services; 5.4.3 – Beauty care operators; 5.4.4 – Qualified professions in personal and similar services; 6 – Craftsmen, specialized workers, farmers; 7.1.1 – Operators of plants and machinery for the extraction and initial treatment of minerals; 7.1.2 – Operators of plants for the transformation and hot working of metals; 7.1.3 – Operators of furnaces and other systems for processing glass, ceramics and similar materials; 7.1.4 – Operators of wood processing and paper manufacturing plants; 7.1.5 – Operators of machinery and plants for the refining of gas and petroleum products, for basic and fine chemicals and for the manufacture of products derived from chemistry; 7.1.6 – Operators of plants for the production of thermal energy and steam, for the recovery of waste and for the treatment and distribution of water; 7.1.8.1 – Mills and mixer operators; 7.1.8.2 – Operators of furnaces and similar plants for the thermal treatment of minerals; 7.2 – Semi-skilled workers of fixed machinery for mass production and assembly workers; 7.3 – Operators of fixed machinery in agriculture and the food industry; 7.4 – Drivers of vehicles, mobile and lifting machinery; 8.1.3 – Unqualified personnel responsible for moving and delivering goods; 8.1.4 – Unqualified personnel in the cleaning services of offices, hotels, ships, restaurants, public areas and vehicles; 8.1.5.2 – Porters and similar professions; 8.3 – Unskilled professions in agriculture, greenery maintenance, livestock farming, forestry and fishing; 8.4 – Unskilled professions in manufacturing, mineral extraction and construction.
Contributions required To access the social Ape, 30 years of contributions are required.
For burdensome workers only, however, 36 years are needed, with one exception: with the 2022 budget, workers in the construction sector were granted a contribution "discount", allowing them to access it with "only" 32 years of contributions.
Staying on the subject of contribution "discounts", working mothers are deducted 1 year of contributions for each child, up to a maximum of 2 years.
How much "pension" do you get As we have already underlined, the Social Ape is not a real pension as it consists of a substitutive allowance paid by the State which starts from the first day of the month following the presentation of the application for access to the benefit if the requirements are met.
The allowance is paid for 12 months per year (therefore no thirteenth is due) until the requirements for the old age pension or early pension are reached.
The allowance paid with the social Ape can have different amounts because the allowance can be: equal to the value of the pension calculated at the time of access to the benefit if less than 1,500 euros; of 1,500 euros if the pension is equal to or greater than this amount.
The aforementioned amount is not subject to annual revaluation, nor can it benefit from the supplement recognized to those with a pension lower than the minimum.
If the person requesting access to the Social Ape is registered with more than one social security management system, then the calculation of the monthly installment will be carried out on a pro rata basis for each management system, taking into account the respective enrollment periods accrued and according to the calculation rules established by each sorting.
During the Social Ape periods, the notional contribution is not due.
How and when to apply Those who find themselves – or in any case could find themselves – in the aforementioned conditions by 31 December 2024, must – before submitting the actual application for access to the social Ape – submit it through the electronic channels made available to INPS (from the Institute's website, by calling the toll-free number or by contacting a patronage) a request for recognition of the conditions of access to the benefit.
There are three deadlines to do so: by March 31, 2024; by 15 July 2024; no later than November 30, 2024.
At the same time, the individual who already meets all the required requirements, including cessation of work, can also submit an application for access to the social Ape (through the aforementioned methods).
It usually takes around 30 days to process applications and find out the outcome.
Please note, unlike other retirement solutions, the right to the Social Ape is not subject to crystallisation; the access application, therefore, must necessarily be submitted within the current year, unless the government proceeds with a new extension for 2025.