The new senior bonus starts today. This is a financial contribution of 850 euros per month (which can also increase) for those over eighty who need very serious assistance. The incentive was introduced by the Senior Citizens’ Decree in March 2024 and will be active until the end of 2026, with funding of 250 million euros per year. From today, January 2nd, it is possible to submit an application to INPS.
The Seniors Bonus consists of a monthly allowance of 850 euros, which is added to the accompanying allowance of 531.76 euros already received by the beneficiaries. It is a contribution intended exclusively for the payment of assistance services provided by regularly employed domestic workers or by companies specializing in social assistance.
The requirements to obtain the Seniors Bonus are stringent. You must be at least 80 years old, have an ISEE of less than 6 thousand euros, already receive the carer’s allowance or the requirements to request it and have an assessment of very serious care needs, therefore a very serious disability recognized by the INPS medico-legal commission. Furthermore, the composition of the family unit, the assistance already received and any hospitalization in healthcare facilities are also considered.
The applications, attaching all the required documents, can be submitted online on the INPS website or through patronage from 2 January 2025 to the end of 2026. It is sufficient to be at least 80 years old and have all the required requirements.
Once the 850 euros per month have been obtained, they can only be used to pay for care and assistance work carried out by contracted domestic workers or to purchase care and assistance services from qualified, non-residential companies (therefore not if the elderly person is in an RSA).
The figure may also be higher than 850 euros per month. In fact, if the requests are lower than expected it will be possible to increase the contribution to applicants who qualify for the bonus.
Having considered all the requirements, it is estimated that the beneficiaries could be around 25 thousand people (CGIL study), compared to 3.8 million non-self-sufficient elderly people in Italy, of which one million with the carer’s allowance.
