The Italian National Institute of Social Security (INPS) has announced the reopening of applications for social APE (Anticipo Pensionistico), an early retirement scheme. This follows the decision in the 2026 Budget Law (Article 1, paragraph 162, Law no. 199/2025), which extended the final end date of the scheme’s trial period to December 31, 2026.
The INPS has outlined that the application process falls under the product “Verification of access conditions to social APE”. This process can be submitted via various channels: directly from the INPS website, though services offered by authorized welfare institutions, or by calling the Multi-channel Contact Center. Accessing the application on the INPS website requires authentication through SPID of at least level 2, CNS, CIE 3.0 or eIDAS.
The application for social APE can be lodged by eligible individuals who meet the conditions stated in letters a) to d) of paragraph 179 of Article 1 of Law no. 2327/2016, as modified, by Article 1, paragraphs 136 and 137, of Law no. 213/2023. Individuals who met the requirements in previous years but did not submit a corresponding application may also apply, given that they still meet the eligibility criteria.
The deadline for application submission is March 31, 2026, or July 15, 2026, and, in any case, no later than November 30, 2026, due to the citation of paragraph 165 of Article 1 of Law no. 205/2017 in paragraph 162 related to the topic.
Lastly, the INPS has reminded individuals that, in order not to lose installment payments, those who already meet all the eligibility criteria at the time of verifying conditions for access to this benefit must concurrently apply for social APE.
