Overview
- After late-night votes, the Senate Budget Committee approved the government’s new maxi-amendment and the full 2026 budget, sending it to the Senate floor ahead of the Dec. 30 deadline and then to the Chamber.
- The revised text removes the proposed extension of retirement windows and limits on degree redemption, but cancels early old-age access via complementary pension cumulation, with savings rising to about €130.8 million by 2035.
- Business measures are restored and refinanced, including credits for Transizione 4.0/5.0 and funding for the ZES, plus support for public-works cost overruns, covered in part by an 85% advance payment on insurers’ annual contribution worth roughly €1.3 billion in 2026.
- Complementary pension changes include automatic enrollment for new hires from July 1, 2026 with a 60-day opt-out, and an expanded INPS TFR regime reaching employers that hit 50 staff from 2026, applied at 60 workers in 2026–27 and dropping to 40 by 2032.
- Other adjustments set the Plan Casa at €200 million over 2026–27 and shift €780 million for the Strait of Messina bridge to 2032–33, as coalition tensions lingered and Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti voiced irritation but dismissed resigning.