INPS

All dependent workers (including those registered with INPGI - National Institute of Social Security for Italian Journalists - for retirement benefits) who have ended an employment relationship and are enrolled in one of the supplementary pension schemes provided for in Italian Legislative Decree No. 252/2005 may register with the Fund.

In the event of the death of the insured prior to the accrual of the right to the pension benefit, the claim for registration may be submitted exclusively by right holders in the AGO (Compulsory General Insurance) to the indirect pension, if stated as beneficiaries in the contract for joining the complementary fund.

In the event of the death of the holder of a pension, the claim may only be submitted by the right holders in the AGO to the survivor's pension, on condition that the membership scheme to the fund provides for the restitution of the residual amount or the disbursement of an annuity to survivors and that these individuals are the actual beneficiaries of the benefits.

Supplementary pension schemes cannot under any circumstances require the supplement of contributions directly to the Guarantee Fund.

The following are guaranteed by the Fund:

• the employer's contribution;
• the worker's contribution that the employer has withheld and not paid;
• the portion of TFR conferred to the Fund which the employer has withheld and not paid (this amount, which became a contribution to supplementary pension funds, can no longer be claimed from the Guarantee Fund for the TFR pursuant to Article 2 of Law No. 297 of 29 May 1982).

Furthermore, the Fund re-evaluates contributions paid using, for each year, the rate of return on the TFR. Contributions covered by the Fund are exclusively those due to supplementary pension schemes for the provision of old-age and survivors' benefits. Any contributions due for seniority, invalidity, incapacity and any other form of supplementary assistance are therefore excluded.

In addition, the payment of default interest that may be provided for in the individual fund regulations and any other ancillary charges are excluded.

The Guarantee Fund pays the amount relating to contributions omitted directly from the supplementary pension form in which the contribution omission occurred or under which the worker subsequently transferred the position. Therefore, no direct payments are made to the worker.

In the absence of the provision of a specific limitation period, the right to claim the intervention of the Fund is subject to the ordinary ten-year limitation period prescribed by Article 2946 of the Italian Civil Code with effect from the date of termination of the employment relationship.

Additional information is available in INPS circular No. 23 of 22 February 2008 and in message No. 2084 of 11 May 2016.

REQUIREMENTS

The Guarantee Fund intervenes in different ways depending on whether the employer is subject to insolvency proceedings or not. The requirements are the same as those provided for the intervention of the TFR guarantee fund, in addition to the registration in a supplementary pension scheme provided for by Italian Legislative decree 252/2005 on the date of submitting the claim.

The supplementary pension fund to which the worker is registered at the time of the claim may be different from the one in which the contribution omission occurred. The Guarantee Fund intervenes both in the case in which the credit relating to the omission of contributions was admitted in favour of the worker and when it was admitted in favour of the supplementary pension fund.

WHEN CAN I CLAIM?

The terms for submitting the claim are the same as those required to claim the intervention of the Guarantee Fund for Severance Indemnity and working credits.

HOW CAN I CLAIM?

From 1 April 2012, claims must be submitted online using the dedicated service.

Alternatively, claims can be made by:

• Calling the contact centre on +39 803 164 (free from Italian landlines) or +39 06 164 164 from mobile phones.
• Online services offered by patronage institutes and intermediaries thereof
• Claims submitted are addressed directly to the relevant regional structure identified based on the residence declared by the worker.

Documentation to be attached to the online claim is the same as for the claim for intervention by the TFR guarantee fund and work credits. In addition the following forms must be submitted:

• SR95 - Declaration by the manager of the insolvency procedure, duly completed and signed;
• SR98 - Declaration by the legal representative of the supplementary pension fund, which must show that the worker has not fully redeemed the position;
• SR96 – Substitute declaration of sworn affidavit, to be filled in and signed by the worker in the form of a substitute declaration of sworn affidavit (alternative to the SR95 form in the event of individual execution or of open procedure in a foreign state member of the European Union).