THEINPS it travels deep in the red, but the state won't let it fail. For 2014, the social security institute estimates a negative operating result of almost 12 billion euros, a figure that would bring assets down to -4.529 million at the end of this year, from 7.468 million at the end of 2013.
The numbers are contained in the forecast budget for 2014 which will be examined shortly by the Steering and Supervision Committee of the public body, but do not take into account the technical accounting intervention contained in the Stability law to neutralize the ex-Inpdap asset liability, equal to approximately 25,2 billion euros. An operation that will bring the result of 2014 from a deficit of 11.997 million to a surplus of 13.201 million. Shareholders' equity, on the other hand, will rise to 20.669 million.
“The pension system is perfectly balanced. With the stability law, INPS assets are protected from the erosion caused by the incorporation of INPDAP”, writes INPS in a note.
Pensions, therefore, are not at risk: the chasm produced by the imbalance between income and expenditure will be paid for by general taxation, or by taxpayers, as has already happened in the past: in 2013, transfers from the State to INPS reached 112,5 billion. From 2008 to last year, the outlay increased by 39 billion (+53%).
Meanwhile, the effect produced by the Fornero reform is affecting the universe of Italian pensions. In 2013, 649.621 were liquidated new pensions, 43% less compared to 1.146.340 new checks paid in 2012. The figure emerges from the comparison between the INPS budget for 2014 (which contains the adjusted 2013 data, which are affected by the Fornero reform) and the social balance sheet of the Institute for 2012.
Furthermore, in 2013 they were eliminated 742.195 pensions. In fact, therefore, the pensions in force at the end of 2013 are almost 100.000 fewer than at the end of 2012 (18.518.301 in 2013 and 18.607.422 at the end of 2012). The gap is expected to widen further in 2014, with 596.556 new pensions expected and 739.924 benefits expected to be eliminated.
Between 2013 and 2014 a collapse of the new seniority treatments: in 2013 there were a total of 170.604 (of which almost 133.000 old-age pensions paid to employees) while in 2014 it is estimated that they will fall to 80.457 (57.891 of which to employees), for a drop of 52,8%.
