Italian pension with 30 or 40 years of contributions: contribution-based and mixed

The first thing that counts: when you started

• You started after 1995: your pension is fully contribution-based, calculated on the contributions paid.
• You had under 18 years of contributions at the end of 1995: mixed system. Years up to 1995 are calculated with the earnings-related rule (tied to your final salaries), years from 1996 with the contribution-based one.
• You had at least 18 years at the end of 1995: earnings-related up to 2011, contribution-based from then on.

In 2026, someone with 30 years of contributions usually started around 1996, so is almost always contribution-based. Someone with 40 started around 1986 and is in the mixed system.

How the contribution-based system works

Each year 33% of an employee's gross pay goes into the contribution pot. At retirement the pot is multiplied by a conversion coefficient tied to age: for those retiring at 67, in 2025-2026, it is 5.608%. Coefficients are updated every two years, so values for those retiring after 2026 will differ.

The examples (contribution-based, gross monthly over 13 payments)

A prudent estimate: same salary throughout the career, pot without revaluation, retiring at 67.

Each extra ten years of contributions add about a third more pension. In reality the pot is revalued every year, so actual figures can be higher; a career with rising pay gives different results from one with constant pay.

The mixed case

With 40 years of contributions and a start in the 1980s, the share up to 1995 uses the earnings-related rules. In many cases that share is more generous than pure contribution-based, but not always: it depends on the pay in those years and on career paths. The exact calculation needs the data from your contribution statement: the table above, for this category, is a prudent lower estimate, not the real calculation.

When you can retire

• Old-age pension at 67 with at least 20 years of contributions (and, in pure contribution-based, a minimum pension amount).
• Ordinary early pension with 42 years and 10 months (men) or 41 years and 10 months (women) in 2026, whatever your age.

Requirements rise by one and then three months in 2027 and 2028: see retirement age 2027 and 2028. With 30 years of contributions at 67 the old-age route is usually the one; with 40, depending on age, early retirement may be available. For those with under 30 years, the guide on 20 years of contributions explains the minimum thresholds.

What to do to get a real number

1. Download your contribution statement from your personal INPS area and check every working year is there.
2. Use INPS's "La mia pensione futura" service, which accounts for revaluation and career.
3. If there are gaps, consider filling them with buy-back or voluntary contributions.
4. Enter the figure in the FIRE simulator with INPS pension to see how much extra capital you need.

Sources

• INPS, pension calculation system and conversion coefficients
• Guides on this site: pension with 20 years of contributions (33% rate, 5.608% coefficient) and 2027-2028 requirements

Amounts are educational estimates: your real pension depends on your contribution history.