When deciding to retire or claim benefits in any country it is paramount to understand what you are claiming and which conditions apply to that claim. Making the slightest mistake can come with hefty penalties that you may or may not be able to afford, and courts will not usually side with you as you should have had a good understanding of what you were signing up for. This is what happened to a retired man in Italy, who, because he was compensated for one day of work, lost his pension for an entire year.
Just like in the US retirement pensions are managed by the Social Security Administration, who sets the rules, in Italy they are managed by the National Social Security Institute (INPS). The rules can change every few years to try to make the best accommodations for beneficiaries or to just try a new system that could benefit more people while saving money for the system, but in any case, one thing is usually quite universal, the rules that you sign up for when you retire apply for the duration of your retirement.
This might seem unfair, but it is not, as it guarantees as much equal footing as possible. Some people are able to work towards and retire under certain circumstances, which, if changed, would no longer be an option for them, so keeping them under their original status is what guarantees that the system does not cripple them financially.
The man that lost an entire year’s pension in Italy
With that background out of the way, the Italian INPS introduced a program in 2019 that allowed early retirement at 62 for those who met certain criteria. Known as Quota 100, those who wanted to apply would have had to be at least 62 years of age plus have 38 years of accredited contributions to the system. Considering how early certain generations entered the workforce due to shortages after the Second World War and the dictatorship, these were not hard conditions to meet for many elderly Italians.
Due to unforeseen circumstances (COVID, mostly) the program was quickly phased out in 2021, but those who qualified in the meantime and decided to adhere to it could still do so and are now subject to its rule during their retirement. The program had one main condition that was quite strict and meant to prevent double dipping, and that is no paid work of any kind.
There were other conditions, but that is the one that managed to ruin the life of a 67-year-old man, who, unwittingly, violated that rule by working a single day during the grape harvest in 2020. Given the global issue, the man decided to help a friend for a day and got compensated to the tune of just $94 (80 euros). When the INPS found out about this, he was penalized, and although the man appealed the decision before the Ravenna court, he lost the case and was forced to return his entire pension for the year, $28,320 (24,000 euros).
His lawyer, Manuel Carvello, explained after the trial that the court tends to side with INPS in such cases to avoid broader repercussions. “Any ruling would undoubtedly set a national precedent,” he said. Still, he criticized the severity of the punishment relative to the offense. “The rule broadly states that Quota 100 is incompatible with employment, but it doesn’t clearly define the penalty,” he argued. “The more reasonable approach would be to deduct the $94 earned or, at most, withhold the pension for the month the work was done. Withholding an entire year is unjust,” he concluded.