Letta's government has no intention of making substantial changes to Elsa Fornero's pension reform, because “if the economy and employment don't grow, there is no social security system that can hold up. We can play with thresholds and flexibility, but there is none for anyone”. This is the warning launched today by Enrico Giovannini, Minister of Welfare, during a hearing at the Labor Commission of the Chamber.
The ministry has therefore rejected all the proposals arrived from the parliamentarians to make access to the pension more flexible, but is studying some measures that will be made public in view of the Stability Law and which in any case will not be a "counter-reform" with respect to the Fornero law.
“In this phase of fragility of our public budget, with the debt we know – continued Giovannini -, I believe that the interventions, compatibly with financial coherence, they should focus as much as possible on the tax wedge, investment stimulus, youth employment and more".
In short, "the bills on the flexibility of the retirement age would have the foreseeable effect of consistently increasing the number of pensions from 2014, causing a burden of several billion euros a year" and this "would prevent any other intervention, such as the imminent one on the tax wedge".
According to the minister, the only "alternative" is to restore "the growth rate of the Italian economy to a high level, so as to ensure sufficient and adequate pension benefits".
As for the individual rules relating to retirement, for Giovannini, "apart from the safeguarded and exodata, the question to ask is whether the retirement age should be flexible or not" and if "we want to try to find a financially compatible that allows those who are close to retirement age to have a margin” of maneuver to bring forward the exit.
"The answer I give is positive - concluded the minister -, provided that the financial aspects are respected".
Giovannini reiterated that in 2014 pensions higher than six times the minimum (about 3.000 euros per month) will not be revalued, while full revaluation will be guaranteed for treatments up to three times the minimum.
