Retiring in Italy means different things to different people: a borgo in Puglia with an olive grove, an apartment near the sea in Liguria, a university town where the second act involves lectures and long lunches. The administrative backbone is the same for everyone. If you want to retire in Italy, you need to settle three things: how your pension reaches you, how your health is covered, and which country taxes what.
Can you keep your pension if you retire in Italy?
Yes. Within the EU, each country pays its own state pension where you live. You tell your pension bodies about the move and give them a bank account; Your Europe notes the pension is normally paid into an account in your country of residence. So you need an Italian account (bank account in Italy). Italy offers a conto di base (basic account) to residents who do not have another Italian account; it is free, stamp duty aside, for retirees whose pension is below €18,000 gross a year (the stamp is €34.20 a year), the Ministry of Economy says.
If you have worked in Italy, even briefly, you may also be entitled to an Italian pension share. The Italian old-age pension (pensione di vecchiaia) is paid from 67 in 2026 (67 years and 1 month in 2027, 67 and 3 months in 2028) with at least 20 years of contributions; contributions paid in other EU countries count towards the 20 years. Each country pays its share only at its own legal age. Your Europe advises looking into it at least six months before you retire, because pensions from several countries take time.
How is your health covered when you retire in Italy?
This is the step to organise before you leave. Ask your pension and health insurer for an S1 form, for each person it covers if they issue them for dependants. It states that your home country pays for your healthcare while you live in Italy. Then:
- Register your residence at the Comune (residence in Italy).
- Get your codice fiscale (guide).
- Present the S1 at your ASL. You are enrolled in the national health service like an Italian, you pick a family doctor and receive the tessera sanitaria.
The EHIC does not replace this: it is for temporary stays. Your Europe adds one important point: if you receive a pension from the country where you live, that country covers you, even if you also receive others. Our guide to healthcare in Italy gives more detail.
Retirement is where several countries meet at once: two or three pensions, a house at home, an S1 that depends on which pension counts, a spouse younger than you. If you want to see what applies to your mix of pensions and residence before you commit, Moovy, Hello Expat's AI assistant, can walk through it and flag the questions for your pension body, the ASL and a tax adviser.
How are foreign pensions taxed in Italy?
If you spend more than half the year in Italy you are a tax resident and you declare your worldwide income there. The relevant treaty then decides who has the right to tax each pension. The Agenzia delle Entrate points out that treaties generally treat public-sector pensions (for example civil servants) differently from private pensions. Read the treaty between your country and Italy on the Finance Department's site, and read taxes in Italy for new residents for the general rules.
French retirees are the most frequent case: under the France-Italy treaty, the basic pension and Agirc-Arrco are taxable in both countries, and Italy deducts the French tax from its own up to the Italian amount (articles 18 and 24); a civil-service pension stays taxed in France only, unless you are Italian without French nationality.
Two Agenzia rulings, given on specific cases and worth checking for yours: for a Swiss resident in Italy, AVS and LPP pensions were held taxable only in Italy, with a 5% substitute tax (ruling 125/2024). For the UK, ruling 40/2019 concerned an Italian national living in Italy, whose private pensions and UK State Pension were taxable in Italy; for a British citizen without Italian nationality the Agenzia has not ruled, and the answer depends on articles 18 and 19 of the Italy-UK treaty.
Before you decide where to settle, have your pensions and your tax position confirmed by your pension bodies and an Italian tax adviser (commercialista).
Is there a special tax regime for foreign pensioners?
Yes, and it is the reason many people look at southern Italy. A foreign pensioner who moves to a municipality of up to 30,000 inhabitants in Sicily, Calabria, Sardinia, Campania, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise or Puglia can opt for a 7% flat tax on all foreign income, for up to ten tax years, subject to conditions. The details, including the traps around public-sector pensions, are in flat tax for retirees in Italy.
What changes for British retirees?
British pensioners are non-EU nationals, so before anything else they need a legal basis to live in Italy, as explained in moving to Italy from the UK. Once that is settled, a UK State Pension holder can request an S1 from the NHS Overseas Healthcare Services and register it at the ASL with their passport, codice fiscale and residence permit (or the receipt of the application). Those who lived in Italy before the end of 2020 fall under the Withdrawal Agreement.
What are the common mistakes?
- Leaving without an S1. The EHIC is not a residence cover.
- Assuming all retirement ages are equal. Each country's pension follows its own age.
- Mixing public and private pensions. The treaty can allocate them to different countries.
- Forgetting small Italian rights. A few years of work in Italy can mean a pro-rata pension from the INPS.
- Ignoring tax residence. If you spend most of the year in Italy, you are resident, whatever your registration says.
What if you also worked in Italy?
Even a short period of work in Italy can give you rights, so ask. The INPS (the Italian social security institute) can pay a pro-rata pension for your Italian years, and your periods in other EU countries count towards the 20 years of contributions needed for the old-age pension. You can file the request online, by calling 803 164 or through a patronato, a free assistance body. For a career in several EU countries, you apply to the institution of the country where you live or last worked, which forwards the request to the others. Look into it at least six months before you retire.
Early retirement (pensione anticipata) exists for Italian careers: according to EURES, 42 years and 10 months of contributions for men and 41 years and 10 months for women in 2026, with no age condition, rising by one month in 2027 according to INPS. It matters mostly if you spent a long career in Italy.
How should you plan the first year of retirement in Italy?
A sensible order, based on the dependencies between the steps:
- Before you leave: S1 from your health insurer, a statement of your pensions, and the contact details of each pension body.
- On arrival: codice fiscale (guide), a lease or purchase, then residence at the Comune.
- Within weeks: S1 at the ASL, family doctor, health card; an Italian bank account to receive your pensions.
- Within the first tax year: decide on the tax position. If you qualify for the 7% regime, the option is exercised in the tax return for the year of the move and the tax is paid in one go.
- Later: a car (three months to re-register if you bring one), a driving licence exchange if needed, and the habit of keeping every tax certificate.
Keep in mind that your first Italian tax year mixes two systems. Keep your annual pension statements from each country: your accountant will ask for them every year, and the Agenzia may as well.
What changes for Swiss retirees?
Swiss citizens can use their EHIC-equivalent card in Italy and, once resident, follow the same health route as EU citizens. On pensions, EU social-security coordination has applied to Switzerland since 1 June 2002. Italy's tax authority has ruled, in one specific case, that Swiss AVS and LPP pensions of an Italian resident are taxable only in Italy, at a 5% substitute tax; the ruling applies to the facts given and should be confirmed for yours.
The same logic applies to every pension body: tell each of them about your new address and country, and ask whether they need an annual proof of life or residence. Missing a letter in a language you do not read yet is the quietest way to interrupt a payment.