Civil service for pensioners over 65: what is in the Pd-Fi bill

A bipartisan bill, driven by the PD and Forza Italia, to establish a civil service for pensioners. A solution that would make it possible to 'enhance the human and social heritage represented by the over 65'. The proposal is signed by the deputies Andrea De Maria (PD) and Alessandro Battilocchio (Forza Italia). The aim is 'to recognise and enhance - as the text states - the human, cultural and social heritage represented by the elderly population'. The initiative was presented on Tuesday 3 February at the Cnel during the meeting 'The civil service of the active elderly', organised by Uil Pensionati. A way - it was explained - of 'promoting active participation in community life and encouraging virtuous models of active and supportive ageing'.

According to ISTAT data, updated to 2024, 23.8% of the population is over 65 years old. And so, faced with an increasingly elderly population, the structure of the service that is proposed 'is configured as an activity open to all citizens resident in Italy over 65 years of age, in possession of psychophysical suitability to carry out the proposed activities'.

Older people can participate in public benefit projects promoted by public bodies, third sector organisations, voluntary associations, recognised religious bodies and social foundations and cooperatives.

Older volunteers will receive prior training, accident insurance and may be accompanied by tutors or coordinators, drawing inspiration from experiences already existing in some Italian local realities and from European experimental projects. These include the European Commission's Senior Volunteers Programme or the experiences promoted in Germany, France and the Netherlands, where forms of senior volunteering are integrated into public social cohesion policies. "The proposed law to establish a civil service for active pensioners is a way to promote active ageing and make valuable skills and intelligence available to the community," stressed De Maria. For Battilocchio, the initiative 'came about thanks to the meetings in the area and the meetings with local administrators also to counter inequalities'. Also at the discussion table was Maria Teresa Bellucci, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policies, who said she would follow the proposal 'with great attention'. Other speakers included Renato Brunetta, president of Cnel, Carmelo Barbagallo, secretary general of Uil Pensionati, and Pierpaolo Bombardieri, secretary general of Uil, who stressed how important it was 'to be able to involve in our lives many people who have finished working'.