Public sector union Isotita has raised serious concerns about the revised pension reform bill and is calling for changes in eight key areas before it is submitted to the House of Representatives. While the union acknowledges improvements on the text put out for public consultation on 2 September 2026, it argues that the bill still contains provisions that could adversely affect pensions and the rights of insured persons. In a study and position paper dated 21 October 2026, Isotita examines the revised bill of 12 October and sets out its objections. It identifies as the most important issue the mandatory offsetting of the increase in the basic pension against occupational pensions for certain categories of insured persons. According to the union, for workers with a full career and more than 106 units of supplementary pension, the offsetting could remove an increase of up to €234.58 a month. For those retiring at 63, it said, the threshold falls to 79 units, with consequences also for police officers with long service.
Accrual rate and early retirement
Isotita also disagrees with the accrual rate used to calculate the supplementary pension. The bill sets the rate at 1.25% until the end of 2041, instead of 1.50%, which the union says cuts the value of units by one sixth, including units already credited. The planned increase in the rate to 1.35% from 2042, it notes, depends on actuarial conditions. The union is also concerned about the conditions for accessing a pension at 63. From 2032, according to Isotita, the required insurance threshold rises from 70% to 80% of the reference period, while years spent in tertiary education and childcare will no longer count towards establishing entitlement. This, it warns, could deprive insured persons who until now met the conditions of the possibility of early retirement.
The minimum pension
Isotita further objects to the abolition of the minimum pension, currently set at 85% of the full basic pension, or €450.35 a month. It warns that, according to its calculations, once the transitional guarantee expires in 2042, the pension of a person with 15 years of insurance could fall from €450.35 to €312, and to €234 from 2047.
Improvements and the union’s demands
Despite its objections, Isotita acknowledges improvements in the bill, including the reduction of the transitional period from five years to three, the restoration of the supplementary pension accrual rate to 1.35% from 2042 and certain more favourable provisions on widow’s pensions. It also cites improved childcare credits for large families and provision for unemployment benefit for those with a small occupational pension or lump sum. Among its core demands, the union is calling for the supplementary pension accrual rate to remain at 1.50%, the threshold for retirement at 63 to stay at 70%, and years of tertiary education and childcare to count towards establishing entitlement for each parent. It is also seeking a permanent minimum pension of 85% of the full basic pension provided for under the current law, or €450.35, for every beneficiary, as well as unemployment benefit for workers forced to retire before their pension payments begin. Finally, Isotita says it has identified 19 legislative drafting errors with substantive consequences and dozens of typographical mistakes, and is calling for further work on the bill before it is submitted to parliament.
