Italy’s pension regulator COVIP is taking a more proactive stance on pension fund consolidation, calling for the finalisation of mergers among pre-existing schemes.
Mario Pepe, president of Covip, has urged the pension fund for newspaper workers, Fondo Pensione Fiorenzo Casella, to accelerate its merger with Fondo Pensione Byblos, the €1bn complementary scheme for the paper, publishing and media sectors.
Fondo Casella, a pre-reform occupational scheme established before the 1993 legislation that introduced Italy’s second-pillar framework, is being wound up following the ongoing decline in traditional newspaper business models reliant on advertising and print sales.
Covip recently placed the fund under special administration, removing its administrative and supervisory bodies and appointing Eugenio Ruggiero as commissioner.
Ruggiero met this week with Covip’s president for what the regulator described as an “urgent and in-depth discussion” on the merger process, particularly the transfer of assets and members to Byblos.
Fondo Casella, which has 1,650 members, is facing a deficit of approximately €229m and has a funding ratio close to 19%, Ruggiero said yesterday during an audit hearing before the parliamentary commission overseeing pension funds.
He added that the special administration is carrying out the necessary and appropriate analyses to define the criteria for redistributing the fund’s assets and is confident this process can be completed without delay.
Parallel discussions are underway with Fondo Byblos, which is analysing the implications of accepting Casella’s members.
Covip said it will continue to monitor the situation and, given its role as special administrator, will take on a more assertive role in steering the consolidation of pre-existing schemes.
Separately, the special administration of the pension fund for a Sicilian bank, now part of UniCredit, has completed the divestment of its real estate holdings to finalise the fund’s liquidation.
The number of pre-existing pension funds – including both autonomous legal entities and internal funds established within companies or institutions – continues to decline.
Earlier this year, Intesa Sanpaolo reached an agreement with trade unions to merge its defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes with Fondo Pensioni Cariplo, the legacy fund for employees of former savings bank Cariplo. The merger will create Fondo pensione unico del gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo.
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