Pension, Women’s Option 2021: how it works, requirements

Pension with female option, how does it work? And what are the requirements? The option confirmed by the 2022 maneuver, according to the news relating to the pensions chapter, is aimed at workers who intend to leave the world of employment early: for those who take advantage of this possibility it is possible to retire with a minimum of 58 years of age , 59 years old in the case of self-employed women (the requirements should change due to the 2022 Budget Law, based on the provisions of the Budget Bill) recalls laleggepertutti.it. For the Woman Option pension, however, the requirements are not limited to age, or to a minimum of 35 years of contributions: the conditions for accessing the treatment are numerous, some specified by the law governing this type of pension, others provided for as applied to the generality of retirement and advance pensions. There are also situations that effectively prevent access to the women’s option pension, such as the lack of contributions for the three-year period 1993-1995 for public employees, or the already full subjection to the contribution calculation of the pension. In this regard, we must not forget the “price to pay” for such a substantial advance in leaving work: in exchange for the benefit, the recalculation of the treatment with a fully contributory system is required, also in relation to the quotas that would have been determined with the system Unlike the salary calculation, based on the last income and on the contribution seniority placed within certain periods, the contribution calculation is based on credited payments, revalued based on the five-year variation of nominal GDP, as well as on the age of the person concerned at the time. of retirement. The returns are rather low and the fact of not considering only the last years of work, which are usually those with the highest income, makes the contribution system rather penalizing in most cases. General requirements for the female Option The legal requirements for the majority of female workers wishing to access the female option were: – at least 58 years of age completed by 31 December 2020, for employees; – at least 59 years of age completed by 31 December 2020, for self-employed women; – at least 35 years of contributions, credited by 31 December 2020 (contribution periods can also be credited later, for example through a redemption or rejoining operation: the important thing is that their placement, in the pension account statement, is by 31 December 2020); 35 years of contributions cannot be achieved under the cumulation scheme, that is by adding free of charge payments credited to different funds: only accumulation “internal” to the compulsory general insurance is allowed (for example between the contributions credited to the workers’ pension fund employees and at the management of merchants). Starting from the maturity of the requirements, a waiting period is applied, called window, equal to 12 months for employees and 18 months for self-employed workers. Requirements for the female option from 2022 The 2022 budget bill provides for new requirements for female workers wishing to access the female option: – at least 60 years of age by 31 December 2021, for employed women; – at least 61 years of age completed by 31 December 2021, for self-employed women; – at least 35 years of contributions, credited by 31 December 2021 (contribution periods can also be credited later, for example through a redemption or reunification: the important thing is that their placement, in the pension account statement, is by 31 December 2021); 35 years of contributions cannot be achieved under the cumulation scheme, that is by adding free payments credited to different funds: only accumulation “internal” to the compulsory general insurance is allowed (for example between the contributions credited to the workers’ pension fund employees and at the management of merchants). It is confirmed that, starting from the maturity of the requirements, a waiting period, called window, is applied, equal to 12 months for employees and 18 months for self-employed workers. Requirements for members of the compulsory general insurance Workers registered with the compulsory general insurance INPS (which includes the pension fund for employees and the management of artisans, traders, direct farmers, Iap, settlers and sharecroppers), as well as at some substitute managements can obtain a pension with a woman option only if the 35 years of contributions are “net”: of notional contributions for compensated unemployment (for example for Naspi); of notional contributions for illness and accident not integrated by the employer These requirements are not provided for those registered with the exclusive management of the compulsory general insurance, therefore for public employees. Requirements for public employees Workers employed by public administrations, however, come up against a “hidden” requirement for the Woman Option: this is the presence of contributions in the three-year period 1993-1995. which includes the contribution prior to 1996, is calculated on the taxable basis of a reference period. For private employees and self-employed workers this period is equal to 10 years (ie from 1986 to 1995); for public employees with at least 15 years of service as of December 31, 1992, the period is 18 months, from June 1994 to 1995; for public employees with less than 15 years of contributions as of December 31, 1992, the period is 3 years, from 1993 to 1995. In fact, if there is no contribution in the three years, for example because the employee has previous payments and has a contribution gap precisely in the reference period, the calculation of the first portion of the pension with a woman option cannot be carried out, even if the law does not provide for an explicit exclusion. A clarification by the Ministry of Labor or INPS would be desirable. Who cannot access the Female Option? Since the Woman Option involves the fully contributory calculation of the pension, in exchange for the large advance granted in leaving work, it goes without saying that it is not possible to access the benefit: – for workers without contributions prior to 1996, as fully subject to the calculation of contributions; – for those registered with the Separate management, as all the contributions present in this fund are calculated with the contribution system. , at these managements, to the required contribution requirement. In this regard, it is good to know that INPS does not allow reuniting the contribution credited to the Separate management.