FONCER: how does the supplementary pension fund work?

Alongside the obligatory state pension, workers in the Italian ceramic industry can also sign up to a supplementary pension scheme.

Called Foncer, it is a capitalisation pension fund for employees of the Italian ceramic tile and refractory materials industry.

It was set up by Confindustria Ceramica together with the trade unions and was one of the first sector-specific supplementary pension funds in Italy.

Foncer was created in 1997 and became operational in 2001.

How does it work?

It is voluntary and open to all ceramic sector workers who wish to participate.

It has a fixed contribution rate established by a collective agreement.

It is individual, with contributions paid into a single account.

Foncer is managed directly by financial professionals and is supervised by the Italian Pension Funds Supervisory Commission.

The value of the fund has grown over the years and now exceeds the yield provided by TFR (severance payments). More than 57% of all workers in the sector have signed up to the scheme.