Assets in Italy’s supplementary pension system rose to €261.2bn at the end of 2025, up 7.3 per cent year-on-year, with growth split roughly evenly between net contributions and investment returns, according to Italy’s Pension Funds Supervisory Commission (COVIP).

Membership of supplementary schemes also continued to expand, with outstanding pension positions rising 5 per cent year-on-year to 11.7 million at the end of 2025, equivalent to 10.4 million members once individuals enrolled in more than one scheme are counted only once.

Growth was strongest in collectively negotiated funds, where positions increased 6.4 per cent, while open funds and individual pension plans (PIPs) recorded gains of 8.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.

The increase in collectively negotiated funds was driven mainly by the public sector fund (+42,500 positions) and the construction sector fund (+58,900 positions), COVIP said.

This is due to the latter receiving contractual enrolments of workers with a modest contribution paid solely by the employer. Significant increases were also recorded in the fund for commerce sector workers and the one for the metalworking industry (+32,800 and +27,900 positions, respectively).

Contribution inflows also strengthened during the year, with supplementary pension schemes collecting €17.4bn in 2025, a 10.1 per cent increase compared with 2024.

Growth was strongest in open funds, where contributions rose 15.4 per cent, followed by negotiated funds at 10.9 per cent, while PIPs recorded a more moderate 5.6 per cent increase.

In addition, investment performance was broadly positive, with equity compartments delivering average returns of 7.7 per cent in negotiated funds and 9.6 per cent in open funds, while balanced strategies returned just over 5 per cent on average.

Bond and guaranteed lines posted more modest gains of around 1–2 per cent, reflecting a year of improving market conditions despite periods of volatility earlier in 2025.

Over the longer term, returns remained broadly in line across scheme types, with equity-heavy investment lines delivering average annual net returns of around 5 per cent over the past decade, while balanced lines generated roughly 2–3 per cent.

In comparison, the statutory severance pay provision (TFR) revalued at 2.5 per cent over the same period.

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