'Innovative solutions to feed the youth piggy bank'
For Mario Pepe, President of Covip, there is a need to invest in supplementary pensions and pension education
President Mario Pepe, from your observatory at the top of Covip, do you think that supplementary pensions can really become accessible for young people?
Pension funds are a very convenient form of investment for those who have an income and who have, above all, the possibility of reaping the tax advantage immediately. This clearly cuts out young people first and foremost. And the paradox is that the investment in a pension fund becomes all the greater the younger the age at which this pension fund is activated. That's why I came up with the idea of opening a pension fund for everyone born. A sort of 'secret treasure chest', let's call it that, that can accompany them through life.
And will it be enough to untie the knot?
It is first and foremost a form of pension education. In Germany, since September, they have opened a piggy bank fed with 10 euros per month for all those enrolled in the first year of primary school. It is clear: 10 euros is nothing, but it is the cultural message that counts. Talking to young people about social security is difficult, they are impervious to any talk about the future. But if we intercept that culture of saving that still resists in Italian families, I am thinking of grandparents who put something aside for their grandchildren from month to month, and offer young people a container that they can fill and use from the age of 18, for example for their studies or in difficult times, then everything changes. I am also thinking of women who are victims of economic violence: a personal and inaccessible piggy bank can give them the autonomy they need to get away from these situations. It is a form of welfare education that is more incisive than words.
And for those who will not be able to pay anyway?
