ROMA – The Italian social security system is «sustainable» with 1.44 workers for every pensioner. And it will be «even in 10-15 years», when the majority of baby boomers, born between the post-war period and 1980, will have retired.
It would be even more so, forXI Social security itineraries report presented today to the Chamber, if the expenditure for assistance were separated from that for social security.
It would mean aVirtuous Italy that spends 13% of GDP on pensions, «in line with the European average of 12.6%». And not 16.7%, as communicated from Rome to Brussels in 2022.
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Social security spending under control
Alberto Brambilla, author of the Report and president of Itinerari Previdenziale, has believed for years in the separation of the two expenditure items. For a very specific reason: «It is essential to avoid that excessive overestimates convince Europe to impose cuts on pensions that instead present a expenses all in all under control». This does not mean that there is nothing that can be done about pensions. Indeed, the professor once advisor to Matteo Salvinibroke with the League just when in 2019 the then deputy prime minister invented Quota 100, followed by the twins Quota 102 and Quota 103.
Three proposals for a pension reform
«Pensions must stop being terrain of conquest e di easy consensusit takes a non-belligerence pact», Brambilla reproaches politics. «Italy should become aware that it is facing the largest demographic transition of all time». Translated into the “social security hump”, the highest level in its history with a maximum number of pensioners and much higher than that of active workers.
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For Brambilla there are three solutions. Primo: «Limit the numerous forms of advance payment to a few effective tools, such as redundancy funds, isopension and solidarity contracts». Second: «Block the contributory seniority at 42 years and 10 months for men, one year less for women» with discounts for mothers and early workers and a «superbonus for those who choose to stay at work until they are 71″. Third: «Make the retirement rules of pure contributors (post-1996) equal to those of other workers».
Why separate assistance from social security
In 2022 Italy spent 559 billion for social benefits: pensions, healthcare and assistance. 6.2% more than 2021 and more than half of total public spending. Of these though “only” 248 billion concern pensions, covered by contributions paid by businesses and workers. If we also remove the Irpef, we go down to 165 billion net8.64% of GDP.
Assistance, on the other hand, costs 157 billion: 4 million benefits paid by the State to 3.7 million fully assisted beneficiaries and another 6.7 million benefits for 2.8 million partially assisted subjects, with some contribution payments.
In total, “fully or partially assisted pensioners are 6.6 million, 41% of the total» of Italian pensioners who number 16.1 million and who receive almost half (46%) of the benefits provided by INPS.
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«A percentage that doesn’t seem to reflect the real socio-economic conditions of the country», underlines Brambilla. «Unlike pensions financed by social contributions, these treatments are completely burdened by general taxation, without even being subject to taxation».
We are talking about civil disability, accompaniment, social allowances, war pensions, minimum supplements, social increases.
This is why we separate the two expenses: assistance and social security. To see clearly, clean up, spend better. And understand why in ten years (2012-2022) the expense for assistance And leavened by +126%. In 2008 it was 73 billion. Now we are more than double that, with an annual growth rate of almost 8%, three times higher than that of pensions.
In the meantime, poverty is not decreasing, given that the absolute poor were 2.1 million in 2008 and 5.6 million in 2021. «We spend a lot and we spend badly», says Brambilla who relaunches the idea of an assistance database and a centralized registry of active workers.