Italy’s pension regulator Covip is set to expand its remit to oversee supplementary healthcare funds, taking over responsibilities previously held by the health ministry.
Under the new framework, Covip will supervise the organisational, corporate governance, administrative, financial and accounting aspects of the funds, as well as their overall functioning, including procedures and timeframes for delivering benefits to members.
The regulator will maintain a register of health and social-health funds, approve bylaws and governance structures, and oversee financial, asset and technical-insurance management. The changes stem from legislation implementing Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan under the EU’s Next Generation EU programme.
Covip will also define and monitor compliance with transparency and disclosure requirements, covering pre-contractual and contractual information, as well as the publication of financial statements and reports.
In addition, it will assume powers of inspection, intervention and sanctioning, in line with proportionality principles.
Around 16 million workers in Italy are enrolled in 324 supplementary healthcare funds, which provide benefits totalling €3.2bn, according to a health ministry report.
Think tank Itinerari Previdenziali said second pillar health funds are critical to maintaining healthcare provision amid Italy’s ageing population. It added that Covip’s expanded role positions it as the main authority for complementary and supplementary welfare.
Mefop highlighted the introduction of oversight of financial and technical-insurance management – including assessments of the sustainability of commitments and adequacy of technical reserves – as one of the most significant elements of the reform.
However, it noted that further strengthening of the system will depend on implementation and coordination between the relevant authorities operating across interrelated competencies.
Adepp, the association of first-pillar pension funds for professionals, welcomed the move.
“Covip has extensive experience with supplementary pension funds, and it makes sense to leverage its expertise for healthcare funds,” said Adepp’s president, Alberto Oliveti.
