The contents are there, now we need to focus on speed. The pension reform "has already been largely completed, but needs quicker times" than expected. Word of Elsa Fornero, new Minister of Labour, who spoke today at the assembly of the National Crafts Confederation.
It is possible that the new measures will be presented next week at the social partners, to then begin their parliamentary journey. A process that should be particularly fast, according to the agreement reached yesterday on anti-crisis measures between Prime Minister Mario Monti and the presidents of the Chamber and Senate, Gianfranco Fini and Renato Schifani.
Final approval should come within the end of the year, but it is not excluded that some interventions will be brought forward with the corrective decree that the Executive should approve before 9 December, when the next EU council will take place.
We will have to wait a few more days to know for sure what the decisions will be government endings. According to what has been leaked to date, however, there should be three guidelines along which the social security system will be modified. Here they are:
1. Pro rata contribution for all treatments. The method of calculating the pension based on the contributions paid should be generalized to the detriment of the remuneration model, which instead takes into account the latest pay slips received. The change should only concern contributions paid starting from next year. The old mixed calculation methods will remain valid for the amount accrued until next December 31st.
2. Overcoming old age pensions. As an alternative, for this kind of treatment, it is possible to advance the "share 2013" from 2012 to 97.
3. Acceleration on raising the retirement age. The mechanism for linking life expectancy could start as early as next year. It is also likely that the retirement threshold for women in the private sector will be raised – and soon.
To overcome the foreseeable resistances, the government seems to want to bet on a flexible mechanism: possibility to retire between the ages of 63 and 70, with penalties for those who choose to leave their job before the age of 65 and incentives for those who resist beyond this threshold.
Faced with prospects of this type, for weeks many Italian workers have begun to reckon. Anyone who has met the requirements for withdrawal (the well-loved "quota 96") is evaluating the possibility of run away from the workplace. In addition to the uncertainties surrounding future retirement windows, choosing to continue working today could result in a lighter retirement tomorrow. This would be a paradoxical effect of the new pro rata contribution model.
