Inps relies on pre-compilation for pension applicants

The acceleration of the process of technological innovation to improve relations with users and digitalise services, and the push for simplifications to make the mechanisms for providing benefits more efficient. Starting with pensions, which at the end of last year saw almost 30,000 pre-filled old-age application forms made available to citizens meeting the requirements. These are some of the positive elements highlighted in the audit report on the activities of the Inps in 2023, which was approved by the Institute's Policy and Supervisory Board and presented in Rome. A report in which it emphasises the need to insist on these aspects, but in which some aspects are noted that remain critical, for which there is room for improvement. Such as the 'bottlenecks in the payment of severance pay and severance indemnity for public workers, partly attributable to legislation that should be amended, partly the result of internal organisational problems' or 'excessive waiting times' in health checks for the recognition of civil disabilities: the territorial gap, the document states, is such that the range varies between 40 and 260 days depending on the reference context. In any case, a picture emerges from the CIV report with many lights of an institute 'undergoing transformation and capable of designing and managing new services by putting the needs of users at the centre'.

According to the Civ, in short, the institute, which has recently embarked on a new course under the leadership of Gabriele Fava as president and Valeria Vittimberga as general manager, is in a position to meet the challenges of the present and the future by overcoming the critical issues that still remain. "The Verification Report is the important tool with which the Guidance and Supervisory Board of the Inps assesses the Institute's activities in relation to the strategic guidelines that the Board itself provides to the administrative bodies," emphasised the president of the Civ, Roberto Ghiselli, who added: "among the results we have achieved, a figure that I consider important is having produced last year a strong and drastic reduction in administrative litigation and stocks (-37%)". The vice-president of Civ, Guido Lazzarelli, pointed out that 'the document presented completes the reform framework of the Institute's governance activities. It is the piece that was missing: the possibility of verifying the policy lines that Civ draws up every year'. Inps president Fava described the observations made by the Civ as 'interesting' and the result of 'valuable work'. And he added: we also consider this meeting 'as a further stage in a path of effective cooperation in the exclusive interest of the Institute and citizens'.

The report highlights the attention paid in 2023 by the Institute to technological innovation, including through the opportunities offered by the Pnrr (108 services released). With the constitution, within the Inps portal, of sections dedicated to specific types of users (Family Portal, Disability Portal), a more agile consultation of the services offered to the various target users has been made possible, in order to guarantee a more complete protection to the citizen, also grasping any unexpressed rights. The document recalls that the bottom line is always inclusiveness. 'In this sense, the more than 4,500 hirings that took place during the year,' it states, 'if on the one hand they enrich the staff, on the other they require constant investment in training.

Civ also recalls that 'during 2023 the Institute has identified a single point for the management of the Customer Satisfaction survey at the General Directorate and is perfecting the system for surveying and collecting data and information, aimed at measuring the degree of user satisfaction in an increasingly reliable manner. At the same time, study and research activities are being strengthened on important topics, such as gender gaps, salaries, and the distinction between expenditure and social security and welfare benefits'.

The report notes that interventions have been carried out, or are being carried out, to simplify and make more efficient the mechanisms for providing benefits. First and foremost, those for pensions 'through the preparation of almost 30,000 pre-filled old-age application forms made available to citizens who meet the requirements'. And according to the Civ, 'it is necessary to continue with the enhancement and extension of both the pre-filling forms and the automatic pension settlement functions developed by the Central Pensions Directorate'. As of December 2023 there were 29,835 pre-filled old age pension applications made available to users, and 29,060 statements sent to insured persons. But simplification also affects the liquidation of the Severance Pay Guarantee Fund and income support measures, such as redundancy and unemployment benefits. For example, following the automation of processing in 2023 there were 1,235,090 Naspi files eligible for automatic liquidation. In 2023, moreover, the institution was called upon to manage the transition from the Citizenship Income to the new benefits of inclusion allowance and training and employment support. The document also notes that 'the costs borne by the institute in the management of legal disputes remain, and indeed tend to increase'.