State employees, Inps turns off the tap for advance payment of end-of-service benefits

The Inps closes the spigot for the advance payment of end-of-service benefits to state employees. From 25 April 2024, it will stop submitting new applications, 'until further notice'. Reason? Resources are running out: 'On the basis of the estimates made, the financial resources earmarked in the Inps budget for the ordinary advance payment of Tfs/Tfr for the year 2024, established in 2022 in favour of members of the unitary management of credit and social benefits, are running out'. The social security agency outlined the situation in a message (1628 of 25 April 2024). In the same document, the Inps clarified that 'as of 25 April 2024' the submission of new applications has been 'inhibited'.

The term severance pay ( Tfs ) refers to the allowance that is paid to civil servants on termination of employment if they were hired before 1 January 2001. Thereafter, new employees are granted severance pay. The Tfr is calculated on the basis of the last salary received in its entirety. For the Tfr, on the other hand, there is no connection whatsoever with the outstanding pay when the employment relationship is terminated. With respect to the timing of the payment of the Tfs of civil servants, the terms vary from 105 days to 24 months, depending on the actual causes of the termination of employment.

"With reference to the ordinary advance payment of TFS/TFR in favour of those enrolled in the unitary management of credit and social benefits established by resolution of the INPS Board of Directors no. 219 of 9 November 2022," reads the Inps document, "it is hereby notified that the financial resources allocated to it in the INPS budget for the year 2024 are, on the basis of the estimates made, being exhausted.

"In this regard," the social security institution continues, "since the Regulations relating to the benefit in question, approved by the aforementioned resolution of the Board of Directors of INPS no. 219 of 2022, provides, in Article 1, paragraph 3, that the disbursement of the ordinary advance payment of the TFS/TFR takes place "within the limits of the financial availability allocated annually in the INPS budget", it is hereby notified that as of 25 April 2024 the submission of new applications is inhibited.

"It is also noted that as from 26 April 2024 and until further notice, it is not possible for the credit bureaus of the territorial and national offices/poles to process and transmit draft assignment proposals to users. Consequently, the functionality in the "Credit Advances" procedure that allows the above-mentioned draft proposal to be sent to the user is inhibited. Applications, for which the transfer proposal received from the user has passed the capacity check, must be processed in the usual manner. With regard to the management of unprocessed applications - concludes the Inps -, the territorial and national Offices/Poles should not proceed with their non-acceptance, pending further operational instructions".