In recent months many headlines have spoken of a wealth tax on pension funds ("patrimoniale sui fondi pensione"). The rule exists, but the name is misleading. Here you will find what it says, what it is worth in euros on your own account, and which conclusions are best not drawn, using COVIP's official data.
Where does the word "wealth tax" come from?
COVIP, the authority that supervises pension funds in Italy, has since 2007 been partly funded by a contribution from the market it supervises, as CONSOB is for the stock exchange (Law 266/2005, art. 1, paragraph 65). Each year COVIP sets the rate in a resolution approved by the Prime Minister's Office.
Until 2025 the fee was calculated on the year's contributions, with a ceiling of 0.5 per thousand. Decree-Law 19/2026 (the so-called PNRR decree, art. 29, paragraph 3) changed the base: what counts now is the total assets accumulated, with a ceiling of 0.1 per thousand. The COVIP resolution of 18 March 2026 set this year's rate at 0.06 per thousand of assets at 31 December 2025, payable by 30 June 2026.
A levy calculated on what you have accumulated, rather than on what you pay in, looks like a tax on wealth. Hence the name. In substance it is something else, and the numbers show it.
Myth 1: "It is a new state tax"
No. The fee goes to COVIP and pays for its running costs, for the part the state budget does not cover. It does not reach the Treasury and does not change how pension funds are taxed, which stays as follows:
- Returns: 20% during accumulation, 12.5% on the share invested in government bonds.
- Benefit: 15% down to 9% on the taxable part, with a reduction for each year of membership beyond the fifteenth.
- Contributions: deductible up to €5,300 a year from 2026.
Myth 2: "They will take money out of my account"
Under the COVIP resolution the pension fund pays, not the member (art. 2): you will not receive a notice and you will not see a "COVIP fee" line on your statement. The fund may, however, spread the cost among members, as it does with other running costs. That is why, in this article, the figures assume the worst case: as if the whole fee fell on your account.
How much does it really cost, in euros?
0.06 per thousand is 0.006% a year. The table shows the supervisory fee on accounts of different sizes, next to two benchmarks: the stamp duty you would pay if the same money sat in a securities account, and the average yearly costs of pension funds.
| Account | COVIP fee 2026 (0.06 per thousand) | At the legal ceiling (0.1 per thousand) | Stamp duty on a securities account (0.2%) | Costs of an average contractual fund (0.47%) | Costs of an average individual plan (2.17%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €10,000 | €0.60 | €1.00 | €20 | €47 | €217 |
| €25,000 | €1.50 | €2.50 | €50 | €118 | €543 |
| €50,000 | €3.00 | €5.00 | €100 | €235 | €1,085 |
| €100,000 | €6.00 | €10.00 | €200 | €470 | €2,170 |
| €250,000 | €15.00 | €25.00 | €500 | €1,175 | €5,425 |
Fund costs are the average ten-year Synthetic Cost Indicator (ISC) published by COVIP in its 2025 Annual Report. It is calculated on standard assumptions (€2,500 paid in a year, a 4% return), so applying it to the balance gives an order of magnitude, not your fund's exact cost. You can find your fund's ISC in COVIP's official comparison tool.
At the end of 2025 Italian pension funds held €261.2 billion in assets and about 10.4 million members. 0.06 per thousand comes to about €15.7 million in total: on average €1.50 a year per member.
Who pays more, and who pays less?
Under the rule in force until 2025 the fee depended on the year's contributions; under the new one it depends on the accumulated balance. So it weighs more where accounts are large. Dividing each fund type's assets by its number of accounts, with COVIP data for the end of 2025:
| Pension scheme | Average account | COVIP fee 2026 on the average account |
|---|---|---|
| Contractual funds | about €18,100 | €1.08 |
| Open funds | about €18,800 | €1.13 |
| Individual plans (PIP) | about €14,700 | €0.88 |
| Pre-existing funds | about €103,000 | €6.18 |
Pre-existing funds, set up before the 1993 reform and with many long-standing members, are the ones the change weighs on most. In absolute terms, though, it is a few euros a year.
Myth 3: "I will certainly pay more than before"
Not necessarily. The rule in force until 2025 was 0.5 per thousand of the year's contributions; the new one is 0.06 per thousand of the balance, so the ratio between the two rates is about 8.3. In the worst case, the share attributable to your account rises only if your balance is more than about 8.3 times what you pay in a year.
An example with the average 2025 contribution, which COVIP puts at €2,990: under the old rule the share was €1.50; under the new one it stays lower until the account exceeds about €25,000. Members who started recently therefore pay less than before. Those who pay more are members with large accounts and those who no longer contribute: under the old rule nothing was attributable to their account. About 2.7 million members no longer contribute.
Myth 4: "Then I might as well invest outside the pension fund"
The figures on a €20,000 account say the opposite:
- COVIP fee: €1.20 a year.
- Stamp duty: the same money in a securities account would pay €40 a year, 0.2% of its value (Presidential Decree 642/1972, Tariff, art. 13). Pension funds are exempt.
- Tax on returns: 26% outside the fund, 20% inside.
- Deduction: someone who pays in €5,300 a year with a 33% marginal tax rate saves €1,749 in tax, every year. That is more than a thousand times the COVIP fee on €20,000.
Our tax advantage simulator works out what the deduction is worth in your case.
Myth 5: "Better to cash everything out and leave"
First of all, you usually cannot. A pension fund is not a current account: early redemption is allowed only in the cases the law provides, for example when you lose the membership requirements because you change job or stop working. If you leave for reasons other than unemployment, disability or death, the taxable part pays 23% (Legislative Decree 252/2005, art. 14), against 15-9% on the benefit at retirement. You also lose your years of membership and, if you are an employee, the employer's contribution.
To avoid a fee of €1-2 a year you would pay hundreds or thousands of euros more in tax.
The cost that really matters: fees and risk line
If one number deserves attention, it is the fund's costs. According to COVIP, over 35 years of membership an annual cost 1% lower leads to a final benefit 18-20% higher. Over ten years the average ISC is 0.47% for contractual funds, 1.36% for open funds and 2.17% for individual plans: the average cost of an individual plan equals about 360 years of COVIP fee on the same account.
The choice of risk line also weighs more than any supervisory fee. From 2015 to 2025 equity lines returned on average between 4.8% and 5.1% a year, net of costs and tax; severance pay (TFR) was revalued by 2.5% and inflation was 2%. Yet only 13.9% of members choose them.
| Risk line | Contractual funds | Open funds | Individual plans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity | 4.8% | 5.1% | 5.1% |
| Balanced | 2.7% | 2.9% | 1.9% |
| Guaranteed | 0.7% | 0.6% | 1.5% (with-profit funds) |
| For comparison: TFR revaluation | 2.5% | ||
| For comparison: inflation | 2.0% | ||
Source: COVIP, main statistical data, December 2025 (table 4, provisional data). Past returns do not guarantee future ones, and equity lines swing more in the short term: that is why they should be chosen with an eye on how many years are left until retirement.
Can the COVIP fee go up?
Yes, but within a limit. The rate is set each year by a COVIP resolution; the law caps it at 0.1 per thousand of assets. Even at the maximum, on a €20,000 account it would be €2 a year.
So what should you do?
- Do not touch your account for this reason. The fee is worth a few euros; leaving costs far more.
- Check your fund's ISC in its information document or in COVIP's cost comparison tool.
- Check your risk line: it should match the years left until retirement, not the fear of the latest headline.
- Use the deduction by 31 December: contributions paid by year end reduce that year's tax, up to €5,300.
- If you are thinking of changing fund, from 31 October 2026, after two years of membership, you can move to an open fund or an individual plan keeping the employer's contribution. Compare costs before you do.
Glossary
- COVIP: the Italian pension fund supervisory commission, the authority that oversees supplementary pension schemes.
- Supervisory fee: the amount supervised entities pay the authority to fund its running costs.
- Assets earmarked for benefits: the capital accumulated to pay supplementary pensions; for contractual and open funds it is the net assets available for benefits.
- ISC (Synthetic Cost Indicator): a fund's yearly cost as a percentage of the account, calculated by COVIP on standard assumptions so that funds can be compared.
- Stamp duty on financial products: 0.2% a year on the value of securities accounts, investment funds and investment policies; pension funds are exempt.
- Early redemption (riscatto): withdrawing the account before retirement, allowed only in the cases the law provides.
Sources
- COVIP, resolution of 18 March 2026 on the fee owed by supplementary pension schemes for 2026 (in Italian).
- Decree-Law 19 of 19 February 2026, art. 29, paragraph 3, amending art. 13, paragraph 3, of Law 335/1995 (in Italian).
- Law 266 of 23 December 2005, art. 1, paragraph 65 (in Italian).
- COVIP, supplementary pensions: main statistical data, December 2025, tables 1, 2 and 4 (in Italian).
- COVIP, press release of 10 June 2026 on the 2025 Annual Report (in Italian).
- Legislative Decree 252 of 5 December 2005, art. 14, early redemption (in Italian).
- Presidential Decree 642 of 26 October 1972, Tariff, part I, art. 13, stamp duty (in Italian).
