The Italian Ministry of Labor and Social Policies published a ministerial decree on July 11, 2025, outlined in the Legal Advertising section on the ministry’s website. This decree implements Article 1, Section 1 of Law No. 203/2024, relating to the establishment of bilateral solidarity funds. It sets forth the procedures for determining how much each fund must transfer from the Wage Supplement Fund (FIS).
During the preliminary examination phase prior to the adoption of a new bilateral solidarity fund, the National Institute for Social Security (INPS) will certify the portion of resources that must be transferred from the Wage Integration Fund. This process begins upon the deposit of an agreement signed by the most representative trade unions and employers at the national level with the General Department of Social Safety Nets of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies.
The agreement or collective agreement signed by the trade unions and employers must specify the scope of the fund, including the sector of activity, the legal nature, and the breadth of the employers. The accumulated resources are determined by the decree establishing the fund and certified by the INPS. This takes into consideration the assets of the Wage Integration Fund in the year before the establishment of the bilateral fund and the relationship between the ordinary contributions paid to the FIS in the previous year by the employers of the entire sector to which the new fund pertains and the total amount of ordinary contributions paid in the previous year to the Wage Integration Fund.
The INPS must report instances to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies where it is established that the new Bilateral Solidarity Fund cannot ensure the implementation of, as per Article 30, Section 1 bis of Legislative Decree No. 148/2015, the payment of the Wage Integration check, or instances where its obligations to the Wage Integration Fund may be compromised.
For funds established after May 1, 2023, the portion of resources accrued by sector companies that must be transferred from the Wage Integration Fund will be stated in separate additional decrees, following certification by the INPS. Employers within the new fund sector still have an obligation to pay the FIS the additional contribution required for already approved benefits.
