With Circular No. 12 of 5 February 2026, INPS has implemented the provisions set out in Article 1, paragraph 203, of Law No. 199 of 30 December 2025 (the “2026 Budget Law”).
As is known, the referenced provision significantly amended paragraph 756 of Law No. 296/2006, introducing important changes for private employers concerning both the period to be considered for assessing the obligation to transfer TFR quotas to the INPS Treasury Fund and the workforce threshold triggering such obligation.
New Rules Effective 1 January 2026
As of 1 January 2026, with the entry into force of the Budget Law, the obligation to transfer TFR quotas to the INPS Treasury Fund is no longer linked exclusively to the workforce size recorded in the first year of activity. It now also applies to private employers that exceed the applicable workforce thresholds in the years following the initial one.
Specifically, for the first two years of application—2026 and 2027—the law identifies an average workforce of 60 employees, above which employers are required to transfer TFR quotas to the Treasury Fund. Starting from pay periods beginning on 1 January 2032, this threshold will be reduced to 40 employees.
For the interim period 2028–2031, in the absence of specific new legislative provisions, INPS has clarified that the ordinary threshold of at least 50 employees defined by the original regulation will continue to apply.
INPS also provides an important clarification: the 2026 Budget Law does not modify situations already governed by paragraph 756. Therefore, a private employer that commenced activity in 2025 will be subject to the Treasury Fund obligation only if it reaches an average workforce of 50 employees, with the obligation arising from the month in which activity began.
Conversely, for employers already active in 2024 and therefore affected by the amendment, the obligation to transfer TFR quotas starting from 1 January 2026 will depend on whether the threshold of 60 employees was reached in the immediately preceding year. Any TFR amounts accrued in the company as of 31 December 2025 remain unaffected.
Determining Workforce Size
INPS Circular No. 12/2026 clarifies that workforce size must be determined on the basis of the annual average number of employees in the calendar year immediately preceding the year in question. For this purpose, employers must apply the methodology set out in Circular No. 70 of 3 April 2007.
Accordingly, employers that preliminarily appear to be subject to the obligation as of the current year will need to perform the detailed calculation described in the 2007 circular to determine the actual average headcount to be reported to INPS.
In summary, the calculation requires counting all employees present during the previous calendar year, considering for each worker—regardless of contract type or working hours—the months or fractions of months worked, with each month valued at INPS’s standard divisor of 26 days.
The calculation must also take into account the special rules specified in the circular concerning employees on leave (with or without job‑retention rights), intermittent workers, agency workers, posted employees, and cooperative members. The total days counted per employee must then be divided by 312 (the INPS annual divisor), or a proportionally reduced number for employers that began activity during the year.
Employers will be required to transfer TFR quotas to the INPS Treasury Fund only if the resulting annual average meets or exceeds the applicable threshold for that year. Consequently, any value below the threshold—even marginally, e.g. 59.99 for the current year—will not trigger the obligation.
INPS also clarifies that a subsequent reduction in workforce does not eliminate the obligation once established.
It is important to note that falling below the threshold exempts employers from the obligation only for the current year; those “temporarily exempt” must reassess their situation in subsequent years.
Operational Instructions for Employers Subject to the Obligation
After completing the required assessment, employers that exceed the applicable workforce threshold must notify INPS of the obligation’s commencement by submitting Form SC34.
INPS will then assign authorization code 1R, identifying employers required to contribute to the Treasury Fund. Once the code is assigned, employers may proceed with transferring TFR quotas accrued to the Fund by the 16th day of the month following the reference month.
INPS Circular No. 12/2026 further clarifies that employers may regularize TFR quotas not transferred from 1 January 2026 up to the deadline of 16 May.
TFR quotas expressly allocated by the employee—or by tacit consent—to supplementary pension schemes under Article 8 of Legislative Decree No. 252/2005 remain excluded from the transfer obligation.