The requirements for old-age, early and Quota 41 pensions are changing: here’s who will have to work longer, when and for how long and what happens to isopension and redundancy funds.
Mr. Rossi and Mrs. Bianchi, who thought they were close to retirement, will have to do the math again. From 2027 the times will get longer. Mr. Rossi, an employee who thought he would retire early in 2029, will need 5 more months of contributions, in addition to the waiting window for payment of the check. Mrs. Bianchi, who will accrue her old-age pension in 2027, will have to wait one month longer than today and from 2029 there will be five months for her too. The increase in life expectancy triggers a new adjustment of the age and contribution requirements. Consequence? By 2029, the retirement age will increase by a total of 5 months. The changes, introduced by the 2026 Budget Law, will involve millions of workers and not only for old-age pensions, but also for early pensions, for pure contributors and for Quota 41 of early workers.
From 2027 the old age pension age will increase
For years the Italian pension system has provided for an automatic adjustment of requirements based on life expectancy. But in 2027, after several years of substantial stability, the increases will return. The old age pensionwhich today is obtained at 67 years of age with at least 20 years of contributions, will require an extra month from 1 January 2027 (67 years and one month). From 2028 there will be a further increase up to 67 years and three months. And estimates based on Istat data indicate a possible new adjustment from 2029, which would raise the retirement age to 67 years and five months. The increase will also affect the so-called “pure contributory”, that is, those who started working after 1 January 1996. For this category, the contributory old-age pension will go from the current 71 years to 71 years and one month in 2027, then to 71 years and three months in 2028 and finally to 71 years and five months from 2029, maintaining the minimum requirement of five years of contributions. In practice, those who are close to retirement today will have to review their calculations and take into account a few additional months of work.
Early retirement: contributions and retirement times increase
The news also concerns ordinary early retirementthat is, the one that allows you to leave your job regardless of your age, once you have reached the required contributions. Today you need 42 years and 10 months of payments for men and 41 years and 10 months for women. From 2027 it will rise to 42 years and 11 months and 41 years and 11 months respectively, while from 2028 it will be 43 years and one month for men and 42 years and one month for women. To these requirements we must then add the three-month “moving window”.i.e. the period between when the requirements are met and when the pension is actually paid. This means that a male worker who becomes eligible in 2028 will receive his first check only after 43 years and four months of actual contributions. Same fate for the contributory early pension intended for pure contributors. From 2027, you will need to be 64 years and one month of age and at least 20 years and one month of contributions, which will rise to 64 years and three months and 20 years and three months from 2028. The restriction on the minimum amount of the allowance will also remain, equal to at least three times the social allowance, with reduced thresholds for women with children.
Quota 41 and heavy work: who will be excluded from the increases
The adjustment to life expectancy will also involve Quota 41 for early workers, i.e. those who have paid at least 12 months of contributions before the age of 19 and who fall into the categories protected by the Social Ape. The contribution requirement will rise to 41 years and one month in 2027 and to 41 years and three months in 2028. If the new increase expected from 2029 is confirmed, it will reach 41 years and five months. The only people excluded from the adjustment for the two-year period 2027-2028 are workers engaged in demanding, demanding or particularly heavy activities.
Suspension and redundant funds: what changes for those who leave work early
The increase in the retirement age will also have effects on the tools used by companies to accompany employees towards retirement. In recent years, many companies have resorted to isopension and redundancy funds, i.e. mechanisms that allow workers close to retirement to leave work early, receiving a bridging allowance paid by the company until they reach the pension requirements. With the postponement of the retirement age, however, thousands of workers risked finding themselves without a salary and without a pension for a few months. According to estimates, the problem could have involved over 5 thousand people who had already joined the pension schemes by 2025. To avoid new cases of “exodus”, the INPS has established that for agreements signed by January 2026 the duration of the checks will be automatically extended based on the increase in life expectancy.
However, the issue of costs remains. From 2027, the isopension will allow a maximum advance payment of four years instead of the current seven, while the excess funds will remain limited to five years. A squeeze that will force many companies to review staff exit plans and deal with increasingly heavy notional contributions.
