Budget Law 2024, 10 fake news that won't make you happy

“We approved the budget law in record time, in just over an hour”: this is how Giorgia Meloni boasted last 16 October, in the press conference scheduled immediately after the Council of Ministers which gave the green light to the maneuver for the 2024.
It must be said that in reality this record time did not turn out to be such: for the first draft of the 2024 budget law, in fact, we had to wait until 24 October, without neglecting the fact that the text sent to the agencies is very different from as announced at the press conference.
It is important to underline that our criticism is aimed at a text that could still be subject to modifications; We could therefore already be proven wrong in the next few hours, given that the 2024 Budget Law could include measures that are currently excluded from it.
However, it is our duty to look at the current situation which in fact worsens the rules for retiring, does not provide for any hiring super bonus and nursery school is not made free starting from the second child.
To date, the 2024 budget law presents at least 10 fake news items, including announcements that did not turn out to be fake news and proclamations that were not complied with.
Here is a more or less exhaustive list while waiting for an updated draft of the maneuver to arrive.
10 fake news of the 2024 budget law 1) Increase in minimum pensions 2) Stop the economic requirement for the old age pension 3) Women's Option and Social Ape do not disappear 4) No super bonus for hiring 5) No resources for the Strait Bridge 6) Free nursery for second children 7) Mothers' paycheck bonus not for everyone 8) Parental leave periods do not increase 9) Renewal of contracts for public employees 10) More money in the paycheck 1) Increase in minimum pensions “We have confirmed the extraordinary increase in minimum pensions”: this is what Giorgia Meloni declared at the press conference, implying that an extraordinary revaluation of 6.4% would also be carried out in 2024 for pensions for amounts lower than the minimum in the case of pensioners.
over 75.
However, this is not the case, as there is currently no mention of an increase in minimum pensions in the budget.
This means that for now in 2024 only the extraordinary revaluation of 2.7% already financed by the 2023 budget law will apply.
read also Minimum pensions, the extraordinary increase will be skipped: how the amount will change in 2024 2) Stop the economic requirement for the old-age pension "We eliminate the economic requirement that obliges those who fall entirely within the pure contributory category to have to achieve a pension at least equal to 1.5 times the social allowance to access the old-age pension".
Even on this aspect Meloni is denied by the draft budget law: the economic requirement required of those who started working after 1 January 1996 remains, but is reduced to 1 times the value of the social allowance.
At the same time, the 0.5 deducted from the old-age pension is added to the economic requirement required to retire at 64 which at this point becomes an option reserved for the richest workers: to access the contributory option of the early pension, in fact, you will need to have accrued an allowance equal to 3.3 times the value of the social allowance (today it is 2.8 times).
3) Opzione Donna and Ape Sociale do not disappear Still on the pension front, Giorgia Meloni had also announced her farewell to Ape Sociale and Opzione Donna, which instead remain in place but are made worse.
For the pension advance, in fact, the chronological age is increased to 63 years and 5 months (compared to the current 63 years); new rules also for Option Donna, as the age requirement rises to 61 years compared to the current 60.
4) No super bonus for hiring As regards employment incentives – which as explained several times by the Prime Minister represent the real solution to the problem of poverty as they encourage hiring – a sort of "super bonus" was announced at the press conference ”: in the case of permanent hires, in fact, a 120% deduction is envisaged which rises to 130% in the case of mothers, under 30s, recipients of Citizenship Income or disabled people.
A measure "very dear" to the prime minister which however is not currently included in the budget law.
5) No resources for the Strait Bridge "In the 2024 budget law there are the resources to start work on the Strait Bridge as early as next year": this is how Matteo Salvini, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, expressed himself in a press conference .
At the moment, however, there is no talk of the Strait Bridge, with the works which under current conditions will have to be postponed for at least a year.
6) Free nursery for second children In reality, Giorgia Meloni had already been denied on this aspect a few hours after the press conference, where it was announced that the government's objective is to "be able to say that nursery is free starting from the second child." However, this is not the case: simply, in fact, the maximum reimbursement limit that can be obtained each year is raised from 3,000 to 3,600 euros, but only starting from the second child and in the event that there is at least one other minor in the family unit.
10 years.
In fact, considering that the bonus can be recognized for 11 months, there is only an increase of around 54 euros per month, a figure which will certainly represent greater help for families but in some cases will still be insufficient to fully cover the expenses incurred for the nest.
7) Mothers' paycheck bonus not for everyone "We expect that mothers with two or more children will not pay their contributions": in this case we are not faced with real fake news, but rather with non said.
In announcing the bonus for mothers which in fact should represent an incentive for births, Meloni had omitted to say that the bonus would only concern workers hired on a permanent basis, thus excluding all those who often precisely because they were unable to dedicate themselves fully career-oriented, they are unable to reach the long-awaited permanent position.
8) The periods of parental leave do not increase This is a mistake that the Prime Minister already made last year, when with the 2023 Budget Law she announced "the addition of an additional month of paid parental leave to 80 %”.
The INPS had to intervene by clarifying that "the 2023 budget law does not add an additional month of compensated parental leave to 80% of the salary, but provides for the increase of the allowance from 30% to 80% of a single month" .
Well, even in announcing the innovations of the 2024 budget law, Meloni speaks of an "additional month of leave paid at 60%": what was specified by the INPS last year is valid, only the allowance received is increasing (from 30% 60% therefore) and not the days available to parents.
read also Parental leave 2024, how it changes with the maneuver and how many more days are due 9) Renewal of contracts for public employees "There are a total of 7 billion euros for contractual increases": this is how Giorgia Meloni had anticipated the allocation of resources in Budget Law 2024 in favor of the renewal of the public employment contract for the three-year period 2022-2024.
In reality there is more money in the draft: 8 billion euros, but just 3 billion are allocated for 2024 while the remaining 5 billion will be available for 2025.
What the Prime Minister forgot to say, therefore, is that under these conditions, to reach an agreement for the renewal, we risk having to wait until 2025.
10) More money in the paycheck According to the unions, it is fake news to announce "more money in the paycheck" thanks to the confirmation of the contribution relief, as there will be no differences between the salary in December 2023 and the one received in January 2024 (except for those few euros resulting from the tax reform).
In reality in this case we are not faced with fake news: although the social partners are right, in fact, we must consider that the government confirms the relief in the current measure for the whole of 2024 and this will lead to an overall greater economic advantage compared to what was received in 2023 when the 6% and 7% relief was included in the pay slip only in the second half of the year.
read also Pay slips, what changes between December and January and why you will earn more