Italy may allow earlier retirement based on 41 years of work, says minister

ROME (Reuters) – Italy may change its pension system to allow people to retire after paying 41 years of pension contributions regardless of their age, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgettti said on Wednesday.

“This measure is not ruled out,” Giorgetti said in parliament in answer to a question from a lawmaker on the proposal that has been championed by Giorgetti’s party, the rightwing League.

Any change to the pension system could be included in the government’s 2023 budget which is due to be detailed in parliament this month and approved by the end of the year.

Giorgetti also said the government will intervene to toughen up the terms of a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies to make it “more incisive.”

Many firms have found a way around the tax adopted by Mario Draghi’s previous government, leading to far less revenue than was expected.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Gavin Jones)