Ready for reform

Italy's complex second pillar occupational pension system has been undergoing seemingly endless reform, but how are the different types of pension fund actually performing? Marco lo Conte reports

Fabio Cecchetto can be considered the embodiment of the success - or otherwise - of the voluntary retirement plans introduced in Italy in the 1990s. He was the first worker to opt for Fonchim, the pension fund of the chemicals sector that was the first to be filed by Covip (Commissione di Vigilanza sui Fondi Pensione), the authority in charge of supervising pension funds. For many years, he felt that by switching to the boldly run Fonchim he had made the right choice. In March 2003, returns were