Some public employees will now be able to keep working until the age of 70, while a new form of social security protection has been introduced for Captains Regent who come from self-employment or freelance professions. These are the main innovations contained in the delegated decree issued on 20 August, as reported by San Marino RTV.
For employees of the Public Administration and the Broader Public Sector, retirement due to age limits can now be postponed until the age of 70. This will not be an automatic extension, however: it will require both the employee’s willingness and a specific public interest in continuing the working relationship.
According to San Marino RTV, it will be up to the Congress of State (Congresso di Stato) — through an annual regulation drawn up after consultation with trade unions — to determine the positions, activities and specific cases in which such an extension may be granted. The authorization will also need to specify the public-interest reasons justifying the employee’s continued service.
The mechanism also includes a subsequent step: within two months, a public competition or selection process must be launched to fill the position, ensuring that the postponement of retirement does not become a permanent arrangement.
The decree also addresses a separate issue: social security coverage for the Captains Regent. The new provision specifically concerns those who, before taking on the highest office of the State, work as self-employed individuals or practice a freelance profession.
During the six-month term of the Regency, the State will pay the mandatory social security contributions to the ISS (Social Security Institute) on behalf of the Captain Regent, calculated on the taxable amount of the compensation due to the office. This six-month period will therefore also count toward contribution-based seniority and pension entitlements.
The measure fills a gap that previously affected self-employed workers and freelance professionals who were forced to suspend their activity during their institutional term. The situation is different for Captains Regent who are salaried employees, for whom — as San Marino RTV notes — existing rules on leave for political office already guarantee continuity of insurance coverage throughout the term.
