The OECD on Wednesday called on Italy to take action to raise the age at which people retire. The statutory retirement age is 67 but many people start claiming a pension earlier due to a variety of factors, including certain early-retirement mechanisms. Indeed, the Paris-based organization said in its 'Pensions at a Glance' report that average age of labour market exit is 62, two years below the average across OECD countries.
"Increasing effective retirement ages should be the priority, highlighting the need to limit subsidised early retirement and to duly implement the links with life expectancy," the report said. The report referred to "Quota 100", a pension reform passed last year that makes retirement possible at age 62 with 38 years of social-security contributions until 2021.
It said Italian public pension spending is the second highest in the OECD, exceeding 16% of GDP.
The report said the average income of people above 65 is similar to that of the whole population in Italy, while it is 13% lower in the OECD.
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