Italian social security: current situation and future prospects

The roundtable “Integrated pension plans: present picture and prospects for the future” highlighted the relationship between demographics, aging and pension systems. It took a close look at the lack of financial sustainability of the latter without any tax intervention on salaries and on the general population. Participants analyzed the solutions adopted by most of the OECD countries and there was a discussion of some of the best practices worldwide. Deep-seated changes have been brought about by the choice forced upon Italian employees recently between the traditional form of severance pay and complementary pension funds. This was no mere financial operation, but a passage from a state in which social security is a collective social obligation to a state in which pensions depend upon “quantum” and a mixture of risk and earnings. This means reconsidering a series of parameters that are first individual and then social. There was general consensus that the role of information provided employees is still of prime importance in view of the complex choices they have to make. Italian employees are essentially moving from a role of assistee to one of informed investor who must be capable of choosing the best products for his or her specific situation.