Cassa forense switches to contributory system from 2025

Freelance lawyers' pensions will switch to the contributory system from 2025. "A decision taken to ensure the stability of the system for the years to come," explains the president of Cassa forense Valter Militi, "the current situation of the institution is good but a pension institution must have a long-term vision, so we have increased the subjective contribution but we have also planned to reduce the minimum contribution to help those starting out in the profession.

The main novelty of the reform, which obtained the approval of the supervising ministries (once the initial idea of keeping those who had accrued at least 18 years of contributions under the retributive system had been abandoned), concerns the pension calculation mechanism: from 1 January 2025 the 'pro rata' contribution-based calculation system will be adopted. Those who are already enrolled in the Fund, once they retire, will have a first part of their cheque calculated according to the old rules, i.e. with the retributive system, for seniority contributions up to 31 December 2024, and a second part, from 2025, with the contributory system. Those who join from 1 January 2025 will be entitled to a single contributory old age pension.

The pension eligibility requirements for already enrolled professionals, to whom the mixed calculation scheme applies, remain unchanged. This means 70 years of age and at least 35 years of contributions for an old age pension, or at least 65 years of age and 35 years of contributions for an early retirement pension.

Lawyers enrolled in the fund from 2025 will be able to retire at the age of 70 with at least five years of paid contributions or at the age of 65 with at least 35 years of paid contributions if their pension is at least equal to the minimum pension in force that year.

Among the novelties is the reduction in minimum contributions, which lawyers are required to pay regardless of how much they earn: in 2025 the subjective minimum will be €2,750 (compared to €3,355 in 2024) and the supplementary minimum €350 (it was €850 in 2024). For the under-35s, the minimum contributions are halved in the first six years of enrolment, with no repercussions on contribution seniority; in fact, the entire year is recognised for pension entitlement purposes.