Pension reforms needed, says Baretta

(ANSA) - Rome, August 21 - The government has no plans at present for pension reforms but some changes must be made, Pierpaolo Baretta, junior economy minister, said Thursday.
    "We must reform the system of social safety nets and we would like to introduce, albeit with some penalty, greater flexibility for those who want to go to early retirement," he said in an interview with RAI radio program Anch'io. Paying for more workers to take early retirement will be expensive and resources must be found, he said.
    However, Baretta added, reports of a possible 2,000 euro contribution from higher-income earners "is only a hypothesis" floated by some bureaucrats.
    The government is also carefully examining the results of the spending review projection that will free up billions of euros from lower priority items to more important areas, he said.