The decisive game of the government has only one name: pensions. From here pass the future of the executive, the holding of the majority and the spending power of the retirees to come. The problem to be solved on the social security front concerns the deadline of December 31, 2021. After that date Quota 100 will leave the scene, which in fact marked the early retirement of the last 3 years. What happens next is a mystery. The executive, most likely this fall, will decide the new path to follow. But in the meantime, some advice is coming from the OECD on the pensions.
Farewell 100 odds
The target is 100, the reversibility treatments and also the Woman Option. Let’s go in order. On the reform launched by the yellow-green government the judgment is dry: it costs too much. “If Quota 100 were adopted on a permanent basis, pension expenditure would record a cumulative increase equal to 11 percentage points of GDP between 2020 and 2045” writes the OECD which takes up an estimate made by the Mef. “Therefore, it would be advisable to let” Quota 100 “expire in December 2021”, the OECD always said. And on this scenario, the Minister of the Treasury, Daniele Franco, intervened: “There are” short and medium-term concerns about the prospects of the social security system “and” we must increase the level of participation in the labor market, especially of women and young people and of those who live in the South. I am confident that the government will find a balance “especially in view of the Quota 100 deadline.” We are aware that groups of older workers could face difficulties “and” these are aspects that must be evaluated “Franco admitted, adding that he did not want to “indicate solutions” since they “must be discussed” by the executive.
Survivors’ checks are in the sights
Then there is the second point to keep an eye on: the survivors’ pensions. And the OECD doesn’t mince words: “To further contain costs, permanent survivors’ pensions – equal to 2.4% of GDP compared to the OECD average of 1% – should not be made available to the groups strongly below the retirement age “. Therefore, between the lines, the OECD requests an intervention on the pensions that millions of Italians accrued after the death of one of the spouses. However, the OECD “shopping list” does not stop there.
At risk Woman option
In fact, the Woman Option also enters the balance. The early exit at 58 years with at least 35 years of contributions, in recent years has been confirmed with renewals of 12 months for each budget law. A departure from the scene of this tool for early retirement could create quite a few discontent among those women awaiting social security treatment. In short, the OECD recommends returning to a pure Fornero after the expiry of Quota 100. On this point the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, has already made it known that he does not want to discuss, hoping for a new reform that allows workers a window of ‘early exit. At the moment the options on the field are either a 102 odd or a pure 41 odd. But it doesn’t stop there.
Citizenship income to be reduced
The OECD has also blacklisted the citizenship income which in many parts, center-right in the lead, could undergo changes. “The number of beneficiaries who have actually found employment is low: the authorities attribute this result to the distance between the beneficiaries and the relative labor markets”. For this reason, according to the OECD, it is necessary “to reduce and thin the Citizenship Income to encourage beneficiaries to look for work in the formal economy and to introduce a subsidy for low-income workers”.
More property and inheritance taxes
Finally comes the pressure for a real tax reform that can reduce the burden of taxes on workers’ pockets: “It is necessary to implement a holistic tax reform that mitigates the complexity of the regime and permanently reduces taxes on labor, financed thanks to the revenues deriving from better levels of compliance, lower tax expenses and higher taxes on real estate and inheritance “. Also in this sentence in fact we read a disturbing advice: an increase in taxation on the property already harassed by several heavy taxes. Now the ball passes to the government which by the end of the year will have to outline the scheme for the new social security path and for the new tax system. But in fact, precisely on taxes, as the Giornale recalled today on newsstands, the intervention of the executive risks slipping. And a lot …