Pensions: in 2029, the state pension age will be 67 years and six months
The State General Accounting Office has updated the tables in line with life expectancy figures. For early retirement, the eligibility age for men is set to rise to 43 years and 4 months (2029) and then to 43 years and 6 months (2031), with women required to work one year less
Key points
The retirement age and the number of contribution years required to qualify for a pension continue to rise, as a result of adjustments to take account of life expectancy. In 2029, the state pension age will be 67 years and six months, whilst in 2031 there will be a further increase of two months, bringing the age to 67 years and eight months. Similarly, for early retirement, the requirements for men are set to rise to 43 years and 4 months (2029) and then to 43 years and 6 months (2028), with women required to work one year less.
For retirement in 2029, a further 3 months will be added, and from 2031 a further 2 months
The forecast is set out in the tables published by the State General Accounting Office in the report ‘Medium- to long-term trends in the pension and social care system’. In this regard, it should be noted that, as a result of the Budget Act, the pension eligibility requirements will increase by one month’s contribution in 2027 and by a further two months’ in 2028: therefore, next year, the state pension age will be 67 years and one month, and in 2028 it will be 67 years and three months. For early retirement, men will need 42 years and 11 months of contributions in 2027 and 43 years and one month in 2028 (one year less than women).
The RGS tables confirm that the age and contribution requirements for retirement are set to rise by three months in 2029, bringing them to 67 years and 6 months for the old-age pension (with 20 years’ contributions) and to 43 years and 4 months for early retirement (one year less for women), in order to bring them into line with life expectancy. From 2031, a further 2 months will be added (67 years and 8 months for the old-age pension, 43 years and 6 months for the early retirement pension, one year less for women). The 26th Report 2025, drawn up by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Department of the General Accounting Office, was published in July, updating the document previewed by *Il Sole 24 Ore* on 23 January.
The pension ‘hump’, with expenditure peaking in 2041
The same document confirms the so-called ‘pension hump’, which forecasts a gradual increase in pension expenditure as a proportion of GDP, reaching a peak of 17.1 per cent in 2041 and remaining at this level over the following three years, as a result of the ageing population and the retirement of very large cohorts of workers. The increase, as stated in the RGS Report, is ‘linked to the retirement of the baby-boom generations, only partially offset by the raising of the minimum retirement age and by the effect of the cap on pension amounts resulting from the gradual application of the contribution-based calculation system across the entire working life’. From 2045 onwards, the ratio will fall to 16.2 per cent (2050) and 14 per cent (2070).
