Also in 2021 the yields of pension funds beat the severance pay (Tfr). Not only did they overcome the health emergency with flying colours, but they managed to record growth rates similar to those of pre-Covid: 17,6 billion were collected, of which 5,8 billion went to negotiated funds (+5,5, 2,6%), 12,7 billion to open funds (+4,9%), 6,8 billion to pips (+4%) and 3,1 billion to pre-existing funds (+27,2%). 2,4% of members did not pay contributions. About 27,2 million subscribers, equal to 2021% of the total, did not make payments in 76 (2020 more than in 5). And over one million individuals have not paid contributions for at least XNUMX years. This is what emerges from Covip annual report, the authority that supervises pension funds, according to which pension fund returns benefited from the good performance of the financial markets in 2021.
In particular, net of management costs and taxes, traded funds and open funds had an average return of 4,9% and 6,4% respectively; for the new class III Pip (individual pension plans), the return was 11% and 1,3% in the class I separate management. In the same period, the average annual revaluation of the severance pay was 1,9. XNUMX%.
Pension funds: differences in participation
Il supplementary pension system it closed 2021 with 8,8 million members, an increase of 3,9% compared to 2020, even if in 27,2% of cases (2,4 million) no contributions were paid. Covip indicates that there are 9,7 million positions in place. The traded funds have 3,4 million members, almost 1,7 million are the members of the open funds and 3,4 million of the new Pips. Instead, the members of the pre-existing funds are around 620 thousand.
However, the president of Covip, Mario Padularaises the alarm on some risks linked to the repercussions of the war in Ukraine and to changes in the macroeconomic and social context. Starting with that of the removal of young people, women and workers from the South, or rather the most fragile subjects in terms of employment, from the perspective of long-term choices, such as those on the field of supplementary pensions.
Reason why Padula launches the proposal to transform the current ones tax incentives provided for joining pension funds in financial interventions in favor of the weakest categories. It would also be advisable, according to the president of Covip, to overcome the constraint which provides for the automatic permanence of the severance indemnity not devolved to the "complementary forms" in companies with fewer than 50 employees. A new phase of "silent consent" should also be launched for the same severance indemnities, already used in 2007 but with some expedients, in addition to the expansion of the sector negotiating fund model "in the direction of an integrated supplementary welfare system".
Supplementary pension schemes are decreasing
At the end of 2021 there were 349 pension funds in Italy: 33 contractual funds, 40 open-ended funds, 72 Pips and 204 pre-existing funds. Over 20 years ago, supplementary pension schemes were more than double (739).
50,3% of pension fund members have abetween the ages of 35 and 54, 31,9% are at least 55 years old and only 17,8% are under 35 years old. The percentage of young people grew by only 0,4 percentage points while there was a progressive shift from the central age groups in favor of the older ones, which increased by around 6%.
At the territorial level, the greatest adherence to the supplementary pension scheme of workers resides in the North part (57%). Also last year, the resources accumulated by supplementary pension schemes reached 213,3 billion euros: + 7,8% on 2020. Covip underlines that this is an amount equal to 12% of GDP and 4,1% of the financial assets of Italian households.
Investments
According to the report, the allocation of investments made by pension funds - excluding the mathematical reserves with insurance companies and internal funds - records the prevalence of the share in government bonds e other debt securities: 16,8% is represented by Italian public debt securities. Equity securities increased to 22,6% (compared to 19,6% in 2020) and also UCI units, which rose from 15,5 to 16%. Deposits stand at 6,7%. The real estate investments, directly and indirectly, present almost exclusively in pre-existing funds, represent 1,9% of assets, and were essentially stable compared to 2020. Overall, the value of pension fund investments in the Italian economy (securities issued from subjects resident in Italy and real estate) is 40 billion euros: 22,7% of the assets. And government bonds account for the largest share (29,6 billion).
