The eurozone crisis has accelerated the reform of public pensions in Italy, but future pensions may no longer provide an adequate income in retirement

For years Italian workers have had access to very generous public pensions, with relatively early retirement ages, and until the crisis, strong interests and the fractious nature of Italian politics made pension reform near impossible. Leandro Carrera looks at the history of post-war pension reforms in Italy and finds that the eurozone crisis and influence from the EU have forced Italy to reform its public pensions system or face unsustainable budget deficits. However, with unemployment on the rise, meaning lower contributions, some may find that the new arrangements mean that their public pensions are simply not enough to live on.