February 2026
27Feb

Fairness Views, Pension Benefits, and Heterogeneity in Life Expectancy

By Maria Chaykina Notional Defined Contribution (NDC) pension schemes convert accumulated pension wealth into an annuity, based on an average life expectancy at retirement. When longevity differs across social groups, a single conversion factor implies systematic transfers from shorter-lived to longer-lived individuals. This motivates proposals to differentiate benefits by socio-demographic characteristics related to life expectancy. We study whether such differentiation is perceived as fair using a survey experiment involving 3,004 Italian residents aged 18-66. Respondents completed an incentivised allocation task...

February 27, 2026
Articles, Pension design, , ,
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20Feb

Retirement Under Policy Uncertainty

By Piera Bello, Vincenzo Galasso & Alessandro Izzo This paper examines how policy uncertainty influences retirement decisions. We develop a simple model in which individuals face a one-time choice between immediate retirement and continued employment until the statutory retirement age. In the absence of policy uncertainty, retirement decisions depend solely on the standard income–leisure trade-off. When future pension reforms are uncertain, however, individuals also take into account the perceived risk of increases in the retirement age or reductions in benefit...

February 20, 2026
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December 2025
19Dec

European Financial Ecosystems. Comparing France, Sweden, UK and Italy.

By Stefano Caselli & Marta Zava The study examines the structure, functioning, and strategic implications of financial ecosystems across four European countries-France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Italy-to identify institutional best practices relevant to the ongoing transformation of Italy's financial system. Building on a comparative analysis of legislation and regulation, taxation, investor bases, and financial intermediation, the report highlights how distinct historical and institutional trajectories have shaped divergent models: the French dirigiste system anchored by powerful state-backed institutions and deep...

December 19, 2025
Articles, System Characterization, , , , , , ,
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April 2025
15Apr

Italy launches ‘baby bonus’ scheme to combat declining birthrate

Italy's new "baby bonus" initiative was launched on Monday, marking the latest step in the country's ongoing efforts to reverse its declining birthrate. The Italian National Institute for Social Security on Monday unveiled the formal process for families to access a tax-free allowance of 1,000 euros (1,135 US dollars) for each child born or adopted in 2025. The bonus will be granted to Italian citizens as well as citizens of other European Union (EU) member states and non-EU nationals who hold...

April 15, 2025
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01Apr

Italy’s fertility rate hits record low in 2024

Italy's fertility rate fell to the lowest level ever recorded in 2024, the country's main statistical entity said on Monday. According to Italy's National Statistics Institute, known as ISTAT, around 370,000 births were registered in Italy last year, a decrease of 2.6 percent from the previous year. The death rate also declined, ISTAT said, falling by 3.1 percent last year to 651,000. That means there were 281,000 more deaths than births in the country in 2024, pushing the country's average life...

April 1, 2025
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April 2024
23Apr

Italian schemes bolster ESG standards in private equity allocations

Italian industry-wide pension funds (Fondi Negoziali) are increasingly applying ESG standards to private equity investments. According to a report on ESG and investment policies of Italian institutional investors published by think tank Itinerari Previdenziali, 21% of industry-wide pension schemes apply ESG criteria to allocate to private equity, a steep rise from the 7% recorded in 2023. However, occupational, pre-existing and first pillar schemes (Casse di Previndeza) still shy away from handing out specific mandates for asset management linked to sustainability goals, the...

April 23, 2024
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March 2024
27Mar

Older Workers, Pension Reforms and Firm Outcomes

By Francesca Carta, Francesco D’Amuri & Till Von Wachter Using Italian matched worker-firm data, this paper quantifies the effect of an exogenous increase in older workers driven by an unexpected raise in statutory retirement ages on medium and large firms' input mix and economic outcomes. Data on lifetime pension contributions are used to calculate the expected additional number of older workers retained by each firm due to the pension reform. Instrumental variable estimates show an increase in older workers leads...

March 27, 2024
Aging, Articles, , , ,
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January 2024
23Jan

OECD tells Italy to curtail State pensions for high earners

The OECD on Monday called on Italy to reform its pension system, making it less generous for high earners. “Reducing the generosity of pensions for higher-income households could limit the [forecast] increase in [pension] spending, while maintaining adequate public services and social protection,” read the OECD’s economic survey of Italy. The Paris-based body also stressed the need to phase out a variety of schemes that make it possible to start claiming a State pension before the retirement age, as has already...

January 23, 2024
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November 2023
21Nov

Pension Reforms, Longer Working Horizons and Absence from Work

By Giorgio Brunello, Maria De Paola & Lorenzo Rocco Using matched employer-employee data for Italy and newly available information on sick leaves certificates, we study the effect of an exogenous increase in the length of the residual work horizon – triggered by a pension reform that increased minimum retirement age - on middle-aged employees' absence from work due to sick leaves. We find that this effect is positive for females and negative for males. After excluding health as a plausible...

November 21, 2023
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September 2023
29Sep

Lessons From Japan And Italy On Managing The Aging Population

Japan and Italy are geographically distant and have evolved separately over the centuries, but they share several similar traits, including a rich culinary tradition, strong cultural values, breathtaking historical sites — and, more recently, an ageing population. More than one in 10 people in Japan are aged 80 or older. Beyond that, about 29 per cent of its 125 million people are 65 or older, the highest in the world ahead of Italy (24.5 per cent) and Finland (23.6 per...

September 29, 2023
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