The pension bar is set at quotas 3.500 euros gross, equal to seven times the INPS minimum. Anyone who cashes a check above this threshold every month will continue to be penalized if he decides to retire from work ahead of time. Not only that: above 3.500, for retirees who are under 66, the partial ban on the accumulation of income and social security allowance. These would be the last two changes that the Government intends to include in the pension chapter of the 2015 Stability Law.
The first novelty would partially correct a Pd amendment to the manoeuvre approved at the end of November by the House Budget Committee. The amendment completely canceled one of the cornerstones on which the Fornero reform was based, namely the penalization of those who, having reached 42 years and one month of contributions, choose to retire from the world of work even though they have not yet turned 62.
The law currently in force provides that - without prejudice to the contribution requirements - those who retire before their 62nd birthday suffer a cut in the social security allowance equal to 1% per annum in the first two years and 2% in subsequent years, a penalty which rises to 6% for those who leave work four years before the age limit.
In essence, the amendment already passed in Montecitorio restores the rule in force before the reform of the Monti government, establishing that 42 years and one month of contributions will be enough to retire, regardless of age, without any cut of the allowance. Now, however, the Executive seems oriented towards a partial retreat, aiming to reintroduce the penalties for those who exceed the bar of 3.500 euros gross per month.
