Retirement is still further away. In 2024, the average effective age of retirement from work in Italy rose to 64,8 years, marking a new record in a trend that now appears irreversible. Compared to the previous year, when it stood at 64,2, the jump is more than half a percentage point. But the most eloquent fact is the historical one: in thirty years, the threshold of withdrawal has moved fast forward a good seven yearsA slow but steady change, which speaks of an increasingly selective pension system and a labor market that allows no shortcuts.
To reveal it is the 24th INPS Annual Report, which paints the image of an Italy where early pensions are reduced, incentives to remain in business are multiplying and the demographic pressure It weakens the intergenerational pact. The contributory base is growing slowly, but not enough to support the burden of accelerated aging.
The average age has been significantly pushed up by the 103 quota, which allows retirement at 62 years of age with 41 years of contributions, but only by accepting a pension calculated entirely with the contributory method. formula that has discouraged many, especially among those who can aspire to a higher pension by staying a few more years. In parallel, the “Giorgetti Bonus” It rewarded those who voluntarily choose to remain employed despite having already met the requirements, transforming the postponement of retirement into a profitable strategy. But the final effect is that you work more, and you retire later.
Pensions are balanced, but with profound inequalities
According to the 24th Annual Report of the INPS, the Italian social security system, despite demographic pressure, remains in financial equilibriumAt the end of 2024, there were approximately XNUMX pensioners. 16,3 million and overall pension spending has reached 364 billion euros. the average monthly gross amount stood at 1.860 eurosBut behind this data lies a profoundly unequal reality, especially on the gender level.
Le women make up the majority of the audience – over 8,4 million – but they only receive 44% of pension expenditure. The their average pension is 1.594 euros, compared to 2.142 for men, a 34% gap that reflects shorter careers, lower wages, a higher incidence of part-time work and fewer opportunities for advancement. Also the actual age of retirement from work is higher For women, on average, one year and five months longer than men, due to the difficulty in meeting the contribution requirements for early retirement.
Inequalities they do not diminish even with equal treatmentIn 2024, for example, women who received early retirement earned an average of €1.852 per month, compared to €2.277 for men, a 23% difference. This difference doesn't arise at the end of the career path, but is the result of an entire career marked by fewer opportunities, lower wages, and more fragmented labor market participation.
The system, therefore, holds up from an accounting point of view, but continues to produce unequal effects, especially for those who have worked hard but in less favorable conditions. And women, once again, pay the highest price.
The effect of the rules: fewer advances, more permanence
The increase in the average retirement age is also due to the crackdown on early exitsThe most recent reforms have made more selective access to early treatments, by increasing the requirements or reducing the amounts. old age pensions remain stable around 67,2 years, while those advances stop at 61,6But the reduced convenience of available options has pushed a growing share of workers to stay in employment longer, both out of necessity and rational choice.
In 2024 the new pension benefits loans were almost 1,6 million, up 4,5% compared to the previous year. This expansion mainly concerned assistance services, While the contributory pensions They show a slower pace. The overall population is thus getting older, with higher average salaries only for those with long and continuous careers.
More work, but less purchasing power
The system also holds thanks to theincrease in the contribution base: in 2024, over 27 million people paid at least one week of contributions to INPS, 400 thousand more than in 2023. The growth is driven above all by the private employee work, which has recovered almost one and a half million jobs compared to 2019, before the pandemic.
But to this numerical expansion it has not been accompanied by an improvement in real income. In fact, contractual wages are increased by only 8,3% between 2019 and 2024, while inflation recorded a jump of 17,4%. This resulted in a loss of purchasing power by more than nine points. Only state intervention, through the reduction of the tax wedge and the cut in rates, has allowed for a partial compensation with the net wages have grown between 12 and 17%, but not enough to bridge the gap.
Fava: "Without women and young people, the system cannot sustain itself."
For the president of INPS, Gabriel Fava, the Italian social security system is stable, but cannot afford to be inactive"By 2040," Fava explains, "Italy will lose five million people of working age. To counter this trend, we need bold policies that increase female employment, incentivize young people, and structurally integrate migrant workers."
Fava has relaunched the idea of valorize senior workers too, allowing them to remain active beyond retirement age thanks to more flexible and rewarding formulas. It's an approach that aims for the system's "dynamic sustainability": less focused on short-term spending and more focused on strengthening the productive and contributory base in the medium to long term. In this vision, the real investment is not in pension provision, but in employment.
Parental leave: inequality starts here
One of the main factors that fuels the pension gap Between men and women, it takes place in the early stages of working and family life. According to the INPS, in the first year of a child's life, Mothers take an average of 126 days of parental leave, versus the fathers' only 36 daysA difference that, although diminishing in subsequent years, remains significant and influences women's careers.
La leave reform Introduced in 2023, it made access conditions more favorable, but has yet to significantly impact the distribution of family responsibilities. The result is that the cost of childcare falls almost entirely on women, penalizing them in career progression, salary, and, ultimately, pension calculations.
Between qualified returns and fleeing pensions
2024 saw growth in number of highly qualified workers returning to Italy, approximately 40 thousand, thanks to the incentives provided for the "brain drain." This is an encouraging figure, which signals the possibility of reversing a historical trend. But the opposite phenomenon remains significant with over 37 thousand Italian pensioners have chose to move abroad, attracted by lower taxes and a lower cost of living.
These two flows—the inflow of skills and the outflow of income—reveal a system that still struggles to retain those who could contribute and to valorize those who have already contributed. The real challenge for the future will be to transform mobility into an opportunity, not a structural loss.
