Reassessing retired MP pensions using
today's calculations would save public coffers 76 million euros
a year, INPS pensions and social security agency chief Tito
Boeri told the Lower House constitutional affairs committee on
Thursday.
Taxpayers in 2016 shelled out 193 million euros for 2,600
MP pensions - or 150 million more than retirement contributions
made. Boeri added that MP pensions are almost double what would
be justified based on contributions they made during their
mandates.
"If we were to apply the current social security system we
use for all other workers to...MPs, outlays for their pensions
would fall by 40% to 118 million, saving 76 million euros a
year," Boeri said.
Extending this to regional councillors as well as MPs would
bring overall savings of 148 million euros in 2016 alone and of
approximately 1.457 billion euros in the first 10 years, he
said.
"Such a measure therefore would not only be symbolic but
would contribute significantly to reducing public spending or to
the financing of social programs," Boeri said.
The INPS chief added that in the past 40 years MP pensions
"have always been higher than contributions made...and the
shortfall has been conspicuous since 1978, when there were just
over 500 retired MPs - self-evident proof of an unsustainable
system".
"Given that the fixed number of elected lawmakers paying
into the system, this outcome was more than predictable," Boeri
said. "And yet many legislatures chose not to intervene - on the
contrary they opted to make these pensions even more generous,
as shown by the marked growth of disbursements compared to
contributors, over long periods of time".
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