Pensions, other than Fornero: this is how old you really stop working

The mistake is often made of comparing the rules for retirement in Italy with those provided for in other countries by taking only the old-age pension at 67 as a reference.
Seen in this way, the effect of the Fornero law – the reform which in 2011 revised the rules for retirement in order to safeguard public finances – is especially relevant if we look at the rest of Europe.
In France, for example, 62 years is enough (but with the Macron reform it will rise to 64 years in 2030), while in Sweden even 61 is enough (but here too an increase to 64 years has been arranged).
In Belgium, however, an increase from 65 to 66 years is expected in 2025 (to then reach 67 years in 2030).
However, it must be said that the rules for accessing a pension in Italy are not limited to the old-age pension.
There are many other measures that allow you to stop working even before the age of 67, especially when many years of contributions have been accrued.
If we take an overall view, taking into consideration all the options for retirement in Italy (here those in force in 2024) we will realize that, despite the Fornero law, Italy is not so far from European standards, especially if we consider that in recent years reforms have been approved in countries close to us which aim to raise the retirement age.
When you really retire in Italy Today the most popular option for retiring in Italy is old age, the age requirement for which has been increased for everyone to 67 years by the Fornero law (also taking into account the increases due to the hopes of life that has occurred in recent years).
However, as anticipated, it is not the only option and this means that on average in Italy people retire well before the age of 67.
This is confirmed by the 11th Report on the budget of the Italian social security system, referring to 2022, edited by the Center for studies and research itineraries social security based on the data made official by the INPS.
In detail, an analysis of retirements revealed that on average the age for those who access the old-age pension is even higher than the 67 years required by the legislation.
For men, in fact, retirement occurs at 67 years and 4 months, while for women at 67 years and 3 months.
Seen from this perspective, we cannot help but consider the retirement age in Italy to be too high, but as anticipated, we must also take into account the other possibilities for stopping working, some of which are recognized by the Fornero law itself.
An example of this is the early pension which today allows access to the pension regardless of age, provided that you have accrued at least 42 years and 10 months of contributions for men and 41 years and 10 months for women.
Added to this is the option reserved for early retirees, where access to the pension occurs with just 41 years of contributions, as well as Quota 102 (later becoming 103 in 2023 and 2024) with which retirement was possible at 64 years of age.
of age and 38 years of contributions.
Without forgetting Option Donna (which at the time still allowed access to a pension at 58 years of age).
Well, looking only at these options it turns out that access to pension occurs on average at 61.6 years for men and 61.2 years for women.
As explained in the Report, it must be taken into account that early pensions are many more than old-age pensions, thus impacting the average retirement age in Italy which in 2022 stood at 64 years and 4 months.
It goes better for men (who represent 59% of retirements) with an age of 64.2 years, while on average women stop working at 64 years and 7 months.
Is it really necessary to cancel the Fornero law? In light of these considerations it makes no sense to still talk about canceling the Fornero law, especially considering the benefits that such a reform has had.
As much as it was hated by workers, in fact, the 2011 law served to secure the Italian social security system, allowing savings of over 30 billion euros (of which 22 billion had already been recovered by 2020).
So much so that the Minister of Economy himself, Giancarlo Giorgetti, explained that in these conditions, taking into account mainly the Italian demographic situation, there are no sustainable reforms for our country.
Without forgetting that once all pensions are calculated with contributions, around 2030 according to estimates, it will be more possible to think about flexibility solutions given that early exit would be the responsibility of the worker.
All this, however, paying attention to the amount of the check, as it must still be sufficient to guarantee a peaceful life without burdening the state coffers with the request for welfare measures.
A point on which Elsa Fornero herself, author of the much contested reform, expressed herself favorably in an interview given to us at Money.it some time ago.