Italy's Supreme Court limits pension clawbacks for retirees who resume work
The Court of Cassation ruled that retirees who take up modest work must repay only the earnings they received, not an entire year’s pension.
The Italian Supreme Court issued decision no. 26864, changing its stance on the Quota 100 pension scheme. It confirmed that retirees cannot combine pension benefits with work income, but clarified that any repayment to INPS must correspond only to the money earned from the job, not the entire annual pension. The case stemmed from a pensioner who performed occasional freelance tasks in 2020, earning less than the threshold that normally permits such activity.
Lower courts had ruled the work was continuous and therefore prohibited, a view the Cassazione partially upheld. However, the court rejected the earlier demand that the pensioner return a full year’s pension, ordering a refund limited to the earned amount. The ruling is now sent back to the Bari Court of Appeal to calculate the exact repayment.
Why it matters
It ensures pensioners face proportionate penalties when breaching work-pension rules, protecting modest earners from excessive clawbacks.
In this story
