There Court of Auditors annulled a provision ofInps who had asked for a full year’s pension from an elderly man, who he had stopped working with Quota 100, for a declared job that had paid him 518 euros. The ruling reduced the amount that the pensioner had to repay, while keeping the logic of the provision intact.
The judges have in fact recognized an error in good faith for the man, who did odd jobs while already receiving thepension allowance. It is in fact possible to integrate the income deriving from the pension with a work activity, provided that certain parameters defined by the INPS are respected which, if they are exceeded, can lead to the repayment of even an entire year of pension.
INPS asks for 17 thousand euros back: the case
In recent weeks the case of a man whoseInps had imposed a fine equal to the entire annual pension income, 17 thousand euros, and the suspension of the allowance for three months due to a small job that had earned the pensioner 518 euros. The man had appealed and the Court of Auditors recognized that the sanction was completely disproportionate to the error committed. In fact, the problem lay in the fact that the employment contract was employee, not independent.
“the interpretation of the INPS, according to which the effect of the perception of income from employment within a year would be to make the entire pension payment received in the same year undue, regardless of the duration of the work carried out , has no legal basis and is in excess of the provision for incumulation” says the sentence which agrees with the pensioner.
“In cases where the activity of employee lasted less than one year, the cumulative regime must be applied only to the period of concomitance between pension and work, as it cannot be extended to the entire year in which the pensioner carried out the activity” concludes the comment of the judges, who did not have therefore confirmed the sanction, but they significantly reduced it, thus confirming in any case that the pensioner had violated the law.
Other income while receiving a pension
The new sentence of Court of Auditors sentences the man to pay only the pension received between 21 May and 30 June 2023, therefore approximately 2,400 euros net to INPS, for a job that had earned him just over 500 euros. On his part, however, the INPS will have to pay him the three months’ salary for the same year that it had suspended, thus effectively leading the accounts to tip in favor of the accused, at least as regards the sentence of the trial.
“The Court of Auditors agreed on the erroneousness of INPS’s claim to withhold the pension of a whole year, the danger of having to return it all is averted, by re-determining the fine only for the period in which my client was hired, even if it remains disproportionate: losing three months’ salary for a few hundred euros is unfair. In light of all this, we will evaluate whether to appeal,” concluded the man’s lawyer.
In fact, the law provides that a person who receives a retirement pension can continue to work, but only within certain parameters. In particular, he cannot exceed 5,000 euros gross per year in compensation and must ensure that his contracts are not self-employed.
