A plan to stimulate knowledge and to help young people who have become adults to develop greater awareness of the world through cultural initiatives: this is the 500 euro culture bonus that the Renzi government promised to young people and their families to counteract the terrorism under the new security package approved by the Stability Law. So here's what it is about, when it comes to the entry into force of this new provision and what is the process, or should be, to follow to get it.



500 euros bonus
HOW THE CULTURE BONUS OF 500 EUROS WORKS
Following the violent terrorist attacks that rocked Europe after Paris, the Renzi government announced, within the planned security package, the intention to make available a bonus of € 500 for all the children who will become or older. The money provided can be used for cultural initiatives, for the purchase of books and various educational materials .

Terrorism is also fought with culture, with knowledge, with the ability to discern and evaluate with its own head and with its own critical conscience the events that take place, and upset, the Italian and European society. This is the goal of the government that announced anti-terrorism measures also through culture and its dissemination, especially among young people.

The bonus is part of a provision that provides for about one billion euro to be allocated to the culture , with various facilities aimed mainly at young people who will turn eighteen in the year in which the provision would come into force.



The same measure had already been foreseen for teachers and schools with a similar provision and now sets a new target for reaching the younger population. The same rule, if it came into force, also provides a substantial allocation of money, amounting to 50 million euro, to be allocated to universities and scholarships , with special facilities for deserving young people who come from less well-off families.

If the proposals of the government will be confirmed, it will also provide for the inclusion of a sum equal to about 1000 euros that the boys, students of musical high schools and the conservatory, will be able to allocate for the purchase of a musical instrument. The goal, also in this case, is to encourage the study of music among young people to encourage more attention to concerts, theatrical performances and cultural events in general.

THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TERRORISM RESPONSE
The objective is precise: to fight terrorism with culture , with a greater awareness of the world and the surrounding reality and with more tools that can help children develop their own critical conscience to analyze the world and the events that move it.

This proposal is aimed at students who will become adults in the year in which the law will come into force, with the desire to launch an incisive message to the new generations. The goal is to bring citizens closer to culture , to encourage them to discover the beauties of our artistic and cultural heritage and to participate more actively in civic life in honor of the completion of the age of majority.



The 500 euro bonus for culture is part of a larger project, which also includes one for law enforcement agencies and various loans to better monitor the suburbs of large cities. The response to terrorism, according to the Government, must not and can not be only military but must above all be cultural.

CITIZENS' EXPECTATIONS ON THE CULTURE BONUS
Many citizens are waiting impatiently for this provision to become law in all respects, focusing a great deal on the possibility of settling the differences that still remain today between some regions of Italy. Providing a bonus of the same value to all eighteen-year-olds means putting an end to different situations and disparities that still today, unfortunately, afflict different regions of the country.

This is especially true for some areas of Italy, especially in the southern regions , where it is estimated that a quarter of minor citizens live in families who can not afford to pay for their children recreational activities and extra school or sports . The bonus aims to be, therefore, a valid and highly appreciated financial aid for many families who do not have many means available to encourage their children's approach to culture.

THEORETICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR OBTAINING THE CULTURE BONUS
To get the culture bonus, the boys must be of age and, after they have passed the fateful goal of eighteen years, will have access to a fund of 500 euros to spend in books, museums, theaters and even concerts . The aim of the initiative is also to invest more in Italian identity, a sort of response to terrorism to counter terror and stimulate a different attitude towards culture on the part of citizens.



For the initiative will be allocated two billion euros and, for any citizen who is eighteen years, this bonus will be in the form of a purchase card that should work as a sort of prepaid card already loaded with the amount due to each citizen . All this information, of course, remain valid only in theory, and will remain so until the Government will not officially endorse this culture bonus.

The Government has said that, moreover, Italy is full of wonders to admire, starting from our artistic and cultural heritage to museums, to the myriad of cultural events organized in all our cities of Italy. Going to the cinema, to the theater or buying a ticket for a concert, however, costs, sometimes even several euros and that is why, perhaps, that young students participate little in initiatives like this.

Here then is that the government aims to fill this gap by allocating money dedicated to the new eighteen. No more excuses, therefore, because all the boys, as soon as the provision is effective, will be able to spend this money in the following ways:

Buy a book or magazine, even in digital format
Purchase hardware and software
Buy digital content
Buy a ticket to go to the theater or to visit Italian museums
Buy a ticket for the cinema
Participate in concerts and cultural initiatives
Purchase registration for courses and updating activities carried out by institutions that are accredited at the MIUR
HOW THE 500 EURO BONUS WOULD WORK
The formalization of the bonus, which is not yet in force, is currently awaiting legislation but, as occurred for the teacher bonus, it is already certain that the bonus will remain bound to specific conditions of expenditure and the state will reserve the right to verify and report all expenses incurred.

The citizens who use it, therefore, will have the obligation to keep receipts and receipts , as well as the purchased cinema or theater tickets. It is still unclear how the expenditure for the purchase of ebooks, digital magazines or access to databases should be regulated. The benefits provided by bonuses will not only cover actual purchases but will also extend to scholarships.



If the proposal becomes law, it will remain to clarify the way in which the children can use the money allocated to them by card . The most plausible explanation is that all merchants will be provided with a card payment and management system which, once the payment has been made, will keep the remaining money in memory.

Another point to clarify: how to know how much money is left on the card? The most logical explanation, even in this case, is the balance that will appear on the receipt after a purchase, while it is considered less probable that every citizen can take advantage of a platform that, through a digital system, gives the possibility to everyone view your profile.

UPDATES ON THE 500 EURO BONUS
The culture bonus for eighteen year olds is not yet valid; or rather, it has not yet entered into force but has only been announced by the Government. For this reason, not only the characteristics that would become normative could change , but the culture bonus itself could be questioned, as it is a simple proposal by the Government that it could also no longer find the conditions to be put in place.

According to the Government, the will is to allocate the bonus to Italian children who make eighteen years each year. So, if the proposal becomes law soon, for the year 2016 would be guaranteed the bonus for citizens born in 1998, while if the proposal became official for the year 2017, the bonus would instead be allocated to citizens who become adults born in the 1999.

Although there is still nothing confirmed, and concrete, what instead seemed immediately clear are the r estritions to which the bonus culture would be subject . If on the one hand, it is true that by announcing this idea the government has proved to be on the side of young people, it is equally true that there are many stakes that exclude a large part of citizens from the initiative.

The bonus will be able to access Italian and foreign students, but will be excluded non-EU citizens , even if they grew up in Italy, despite demonstrating that they have attended the full course of study in our country, a substantial part of young people who, most likely, may want to access to Italian citizenship.

Second generation citizens, who were born and raised in Italy and who represent a large part of the population that, according to 2016, will reach the age of majority this year will also be excluded from the provision.

All employees who have a work situation that has lasted for more than eight years have the right to request an advance on severance pay, also called TFR, provided that the reason for the request is justified by a valid reason. But how to request the TFR in advance? And what are the procedures to be faced to get it? Here are all the answers.



How to request the TFR in advance
HOW TO REQUEST THE TFR IN ADVANCE
The TFR , which stands for "severance pay" , otherwise known as "liquidation" is a right of all employees. At the end of their career, in addition to the pension, citizens have the right to a liquidation, equal to the time, calculated in a year, in which they have served in a company, public or private.

The severance pay, however, can also be requested from the employer ahead of time . You can only request a portion of the money that will be spent and only if you have all the necessary requirements to do so. The request and the motivations must be duly documented, assessed, and only later approved, or not, according to current legislation.

Working citizens who have the possibility to request an advance on severance pay generally take into consideration this eventuality in case they are faced with particular personal, family and health needs . In this case, the employer will provide the worker with the requested part, which will be deducted from the total sum that the worker will have at the end of the employment relationship.



HOW THE ADVANCE ON THE TFR WORKS
But how does the request for early termination benefits work? The question can sometimes be a bit 'thorny and the best way to deal with it is to know as much as possible the law and the procedure that in this case should be taken to the letter to bring the practice to fruition.

The severance pay can be requested in advance as long as the employee works for the company for at least eight years . It is possible to request an advance on the liquidation equal to 70% of the sum of the severance indemnity due up to that period of time, also based on the contributions accrued by the worker, and only for justified reasons.

Generally, this sum is required because you need to face medical expenses or because you need extra money to buy a house , for yourself but also for your children, or to restructure one. Another reason that requires workers to request an advance of severance pay is the need to face expenses in the case of adoption of children , especially when parents face all paperwork abroad and have to pay the entire stay in a foreign country . In this case it is possible to request the advance of the severance pay to cover the costs of travel and stay abroad until the authorities allow the family to return to Italy.

Since 2007, thanks to the supplementary pension reform , it has been decided to change the legislation that regulates the severance pay and for a provision of the employee severance indemnity that the workers have accrued until December 31st, 2006. All the employees who belong to the most important companies. of fifty workers can choose, as a result of precise communication forwarded to the employer, to leave or not the TFR in the company.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SEVERANCE PAY REMAINS IN THE COMPANY
The procedure could appear even more intricate when the workers were given the opportunity to decide in general on the fate of their TFR; leave it in the company or transfer it elsewhere by personal decision.

Employees who choose to leave the TFR in the company have the right to request an advance if they face extraordinary medical expenses or need money for the purchase or renovation of a house, not only for themselves but also for the own children. The requirements to access the advance are eight years of service at the company and the limit of 70%: the amount advanced must not exceed this percentage.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE SEVERANCE PAY IS PAID IN ADVANCE IN THE PENSION FUND
If the TFR is allocated to a supplementary pension fund, the demand limits are no longer valid and the advance is calculated on the amount accrued by the employee up to that time and not only on the portion of the TFR. The advance can also exceed the limit of 70% up to 75%.

After the limit of eight years of work at the company has elapsed, the worker can also submit an advance payment claim for the 30% TFR , if there are particular needs of the worker.



TFR ADVANCE FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
The latest updates on the subject of advance severance pay for civil servants have established that it is possible for this category of workers to obtain the advance of severance pay, a possibility that was already recognized to employees of private companies, in certain cases. To date, however, there is still no ministerial decree that regulates the mode of granting and disbursement.

However, according to the INPS, it is not possible to request the advance of the TFR for civil servants, since the trade unions, according to the agreement signed with ARAN, did not foresee this kind of negotiation with the workers of the public sector.

MEDICAL EXPENSES AND RENOVATIONS FOR THE HOME
We have said that the most cited reasons in the request for the advance of the TFR are the medical expenses and the necessity to have money to renovate the house or to buy one.

So let's take a closer look at how and how to proceed if you are in one of these situations; purchase of the house for oneself or for the children or the need to face health expenses.

PURCHASE OF THE FIRST HOUSE, FOR ONESELF OR FOR THE CHILDREN
In this case the application for the advance of the severance pay can be submitted only once.

HEALTH-RELATED EXPENSES FOR THEMSELVES OR FOR A DEPENDENT FAMILY MEMBER
The health-related expenses are one of the reasons why people require a TFR advance, provided the expenses are documented through special medical certificates. In this case, the advance can be requested more than once, especially if the health of the employee or a dependent family member deteriorates.

Other cases in which it is possible to request the advance of the TFR are:

Construction of the first house on its own
Decision to participate in a cooperative
Sale of own homes; but only if it proves that the proceeds from the sale of the first house will be used for the purchase of a new home.
THE ADVANCE OF THE TFR DOES NOT BELONG TO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES OF WORKERS:
Tax collection companies
Gas companies
Duty companies
Duty companies
State administrations
Professional journalists
Regions, provinces, municipalities
HOW TO REQUEST THE ADVANCE OF THE TFR
The request for the request for the advance of severance pay must be forwarded to one of the INPS offices in the territory , using the appropriate form, or by filling in the digital version of the world directly on the INPS website.

The application must be submitted after the end of the employment relationship and must include:

The copy of an identification document
The model of application completed in all its fields, signed and stamped by an extraordinary commissioner
The copy of the passive state of the worker
The copy that certifies admission to the passive state
Certificate, signed by the court registry, certifying the non-appeal of the claim, or a statement by the person responsible for the procedure
REQUEST THE ADVANCE ON THE TFR TO BUY THE FIRST HOUSE
More and more people, especially young people, find themselves in difficulty in buying the first house because of the impossibility, nowadays, to access the mortgage. What to do in these cases? And how to secure a sum of money to be paid, if necessary, as an advance for the purchase of the property?

Requesting an advance on TFR could be one of the solutions to be taken into consideration, since the law recognizes all employees to apply for it during the course of the employment relationship for this reason as well. Also in this case, it is necessary to have eight years of service behind the company and the advance can not exceed 70%.

If the employer does not agree in anticipating the TFR to his employee, it will be necessary to verify that the latter has all the requisites required and regulated by the law; if this is the case, the employer is obliged to pay TFR and can not retreat. Added to this is that, if the house is instead purchased for one's child, one can benefit from the advance of severance pay as long as the residence requirements are met for the latter.

Other eventualities can also occur, starting from the doubt that could arise on which property is, in effect, considered first house or main house. With the first one means, it is good to specify it, it means only the building of residence.

Other eventuality that can be presented is the advance of the TFR for the purchase of a home undertaken by the spouse . In this case, the Supreme Court decided that the right to request this advance must also be extended to the spouse if the communion of assets exists.

In the event of an ongoing purchase, the Constitutional Court has ruled that the purchase must always be proven by means of a notarial deed which proves its effectiveness and validity.

The issue of pensions is an increasingly current topic and increasingly hot and, given the precarious situation, there are more and more people who decide to remember a supplementary pension fund. But how does a pension fund work and what exactly is the supplementary pension? We try to answer all these questions and to clarify the topic.



How pension funds work

During the employment relationship, each citizen is required to pay contributions to the INPS in order to secure a pension when he or she stops working. This, in theory, since in the political and social scene, this topic is the most burning.
Especially with regard to young people and new generations who have recently entered the labor market, the pension may never arrive, or in any case it may not be enough to guarantee citizens that they will retire a dignified existence.

The theme, moreover, is in constant turmoil and the government is currently still discussing various hypotheses, ranging from early retirement to the possibility of redeeming even the graduation years. This means, for the young, to redeem the years spent at the university as if it were working years for which contributions were paid. But if it is true that this last option risks being too expensive, it is less possible to access a pension fund , a solution that more and more citizens are considering.



According to the Covip data, in fact, about 7, 3 million Italians have chosen an alternative pension and more and more parents who choose to start making contributions for their children through a fund of this kind. And here comes the supplementary pension fund. As its name announces, the supplementary pension is a pension that goes to supplement the state and to fill it where it proves to be too small. Everyone can decide to make a supplementary pension and thus save , month by month, money in view of the integration of the actual pension .

The banking market offers different types of products and you just need to contact your bank of trust to know what are the supplementary pension packages that the same institution offers. In the same way, you can also turn to insurance and stipulate the type of contract most suited to your needs.

In any case, if the public pension is not enough, to guarantee a reasonable income, all that remains is to save money and set aside. Moreover, the estimates and numbers do not make good predictions and it is calculated that those who retire with the contributory system will have a pension allowance equal to about 50% of their average salary .

To date, therefore, the supplementary pension is one of the major forms of savings, and above all investment, for its future. But let's understand better how the social security system works and why in many cases resorting to supplementary pensions is the best choice.

HOW THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM WORKS
The social security system relies on state mechanisms and is a shared mechanism. This means that the contributions that are paid by the workers are paid to citizens who are retired and who must receive their monthly allowance.

The compulsory provision includes all pension benefits that are guaranteed by law to all citizens and is based on the compulsory contribution, ie on the payment of contributions to the state. The supplementary pension , however, is an integrative system designed to give workers, particularly to young people and students a way to have more money once they are retired.

We have said that the retiring people receive, on a monthly basis, from the INPS their pension provided by the State. To date, the pension calculation takes place through three different calculation systems; the salary system, the contributory system and the mixed system .

There is also the TFR, the much discussed Treatment for severance pay , which allows each worker to leave some of the money at the company and to collect it at the end of the employment relationship. The TFR itself, according to everyone's decision, can then be transferred to a pension fund.

WHAT IS A PENSION FUND?
The pension fund is considered an investment fund . In other words, you save money that can be redeemed when the state pension is reached. In this way, a fixed income is guaranteed in addition to the state pension, which, especially in the case of calculation with the contributory system, is likely to be too small.



To understand which pension fund could be for us, the first thing to think about is what is defined as a "pension gap", that is how much, in economic terms, you can count on retirement. The INPS provides a useful tool, called "my pension" which can be accessed directly from the site and allows you to calculate, through estimates and estimates, the value of the pension.

The amount obtained will then need to add the money deriving from the investment made by the TFR, at the company or at a pension fund. When the retirement estimate and prediction will be clearer, the social security gap will also appear , which at this point represents the difference between the money expected to receive as a pension and what will actually be paid by the INPS.

At this point, the amount you want to put aside to make sure you get as close as possible to your expectations will be clearer. Then, whoever decides to join a pension fund, will have to pay a fixed amount each month that, for employees, can also be added a company contribution. Self-employed workers, on the other hand, can choose independently how much to pay.

TYPES OF PENSION FUNDS
There are different types of pension funds, which each can choose based on the needs, the type of yield they offer and also on the basis of the investment necessary to enter into such an agreement. The pension funds that most people resort to are three , different in terms of characteristics and contract conditions.

The open pension funds are those managed by banks and insurance and are open to all workers. The closed pension funds , on the other hand, are the result of the agreement between trade unions and employers' organizations and, for this reason, only certain categories of workers can join. There are also individual pension plans , very similar to pension funds but structured in such a way as to function as a life insurance policy.



Those who subscribe to a pension fund may choose to invest the capital through various financial instruments , such as shares or bonds. Depending on the contract stipulated, it is possible to choose between different investment strategies, which may have a more or less high risk depending on the agreements.

The expected return is how much the fund's owners expect to be able to obtain in economic terms , while the risk represents the possibility of losing the money invested. The greater the risk, the greater the chance to earn, but this obviously depends on the needs of everyone and the possibility, or not, to risk with an investment of this type.

Some funds follow more risky strategies , other more prudent strategies . The more time passes, then, the capital and the yield accumulates, while if you invest in the financial market you can never know what the actual result will be. In any case, once the citizen has access to the pension, half of the capital can be withdrawn immediately, while the remaining part can become a full-fledged pension.

Or, another alternative, it is possible to withdraw the entire countervalue at maturity if the capital rents are less than 50% of the pension provided by the State. Anything that is accrued over time within a pension fund can, depending on the case, be redeemed even before the actual retirement, but only if there are urgent and proven reasons, such as the purchase of a house, the state of unemployment or health reasons. In other cases it is possible to withdraw 30% of the amount paid , but only if eight years have elapsed since the stipulation.

ADVICE FOR CHOOSING A PENSION FUND
The best way to start choosing the pension fund that best meets your needs is to be as informed as possible on the subject. Do not rush, therefore, but inquire, read, ask for walls and compare more options.

When you have a little clearer ideas, do not hesitate to contact the bank or an insurance institution to request more information. You can also take several appointments in different banks and branches, request information leaflets and then choose the solution that seems most advantageous to you, even on the basis of the money you want to invest.

Lastly, do not take any risky steps and consider your choices well, depending on what your current income is, how much money you can allocate to the pension fund, without this affecting your current economic well-being in a negative way.

Celiac disease is a disease of the small intestine. Those who suffer can not take foods that contain gluten and for this reason needs a specific diet based products for people with celiac disease. The Italian State meets the families of coeliacs by making available to the vouchers to spend in the indicated points of sale, or in the pharmacy, for the purchase of products that do not contain gluten. So let's see what good celiacs are and how they work specifically.



good celiac
GOOD CELIAC DISEASE: WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO REQUEST THEM
The celiac disease is an officially recognized disease, it can strike at any age and, according to some studies, at its base there is a genetic predisposition. Abdominal pain and nausea are just some symptoms that occur in people with celiac disease, due to the malabsorption of some substances, such as gluten , contained in food. People suffering from celiac disease report a chronic inflammation of the small intestine, which ignites because the body continues to ingest products containing gluten.

But what exactly is gluten?

Gluten is a component of protein in cereals that is found in wheat and in some types of cereals , such as barley, rye, spelled and spelled. Therefore, finding itself in products prepared with this kind of cereals, gluten is contained in bread, flour, pizza, biscuits and all the other confectionery products , such as snacks and snacks.



Celiacs who ingest this type of food suffer from numerous physical disorders, ranging from dysentery to abdominal cramps, depending on the fact that the intestine is unable to digest gluten . What to do then?

Celiacs should not only avoid ingesting foods that do not contain gluten , but must also pay attention that there is no contamination with products that contain it and this is why it can become difficult practice to go out for dinner, even if only for a pizza, and find, for example, a pizzeria with a separate oven that only cooks pizzas with gluten-free flour. The same, of course, applies to pastry or baker: if you sell gluten - free products , traders are obliged to separate the places where food is prepared to avoid contaminating the flour .

WHAT THE LEGISLATION SAYS
The Italian law provides for a specific labeling on food products for everything that concerns not only foods containing gluten, but also for those that contain allergens. Foods that do not contain gluten are many, such as fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and eggs, while for all others, all processed products containing flour, must be labeled in such a way as to be recognized among gluten-free products.

Since 2005 these products are obligatorily marked with an ear of crossed wheat : buying a food bearing this symbol you are certain to consume products that do not contain gluten and therefore do not cause intolerance or annoyance in people with celiac disease. The rules governing the use of labels are very strict; the symbol of the spike can appear only and exclusively on products that contain gluten for a maximum of 20 milligrams per Kg .

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF SUSPECTED CELIAC DISEASE
The diagnosis is often done in adulthood and, at that point, it becomes impossible for the celiac to continue to conduct the same diet. It is therefore necessary to buy products, such as flours, bread, pasta and biscuits, which do not contain gluten to eliminate physical discomfort. The Italian State is helping celiac citizens , and families, in the case of small children, and provides them with a maximum cost ceiling that must be used for the purchase of suitable products.

What is fundamental , however, is that the pathology is ascertained safely by a doctor . Alternatively, it is impossible to access this economic aid. The situation becomes particularly unpleasant when a person manifests all the symptoms , or almost, of celiac disease but there is no clinical evidence that leads the doctor to be able to diagnose it for all purposes. In these cases, people can still decide to buy products without gluten, but since there is no pathology confirmed by the doctor can not access state economic aid, with a further increase in family expenses, since products for celiacs can also have costs rather onerous.

Those who can be said to be 100% celiac, and therefore possess a medical certificate attesting to it, have at their disposal an amount that varies from € 45 to € 100 each month , depending on the age, to be used for the purchase of gluten-free products. For children there are also various facilities for the school canteen.



The state helps citizens with celiac disease assessed with various types of economic aid . This is because, individually, gluten-free products are quite expensive compared to the average of all other foods and, buy even some of the basic and necessary foods, such as pasta and gluten-free flours, would greatly affect the family budget of every family if these subsidies did not exist.

It is directly the National Health Service that takes care of supplying gluten-free foods to citizens with celiac disease. The products can be picked up directly at the pharmacy or at specialized stores that sell gluten-free food. The products can be purchased until the required monthly ceiling is exhausted, at the end of which, however, the citizens will have to provide their own pockets to find the products.

The spending ceilings available for each citizen may vary according to the region of residence and according to the ASL of belonging. The first thing to do, therefore, to get certain and detailed information is to consult the AIC of your region or ask directly the doctor.

The monthly money available for each celiac person varies according to age. Therefore there are different bands to rely on. Here is a brief overview:

6 months - 1 year of age: 45.00 euros

Up to 3 and a half years old: 62.00 euros

Up to 10 years of age: 94, 00 euros

Adult age: 140, 00 for males and 99.00 for females

To know specifically which are the gluten-free products that the National Health Service is responsible for providing, just consult the national register of gluten-free products . Then you need to proceed with the request for celiac good.



To make the request it is necessary to present some documents:

Certificate signed by a doctor attesting the presence of the disease
Authorization signed by the ASL that allows access to the purchase of gluten-free foods
OTHER FACILITIES FOR CELIACS
In addition to the request for vouchers, celiacs are also entitled to access different services , on request and free of charge. This rule was designed especially for young children who, having lunch at the school canteen, in the case of celiac disease would have many problems.

In this case, parents of children with celiac disease can ask the school to provide gluten-free meals for their child , and this can also take place in hospitals in case of hospitalization, but also in sports facilities that provide access to canteens. collective.

VISITS AND EXEMPTIONS
The examinations necessary for the diagnosis of celiac disease are granted exemption , with the condition that the suspected diagnosis is formulated by a specialist in the National Health Service. In this case the citizen affected by celiac disease will be sent by the same doctor, to the guard of the network able to formulate the diagnosis of the disease.

REIMBURSEMENT OF THE NHS FOR PRODUCTS PURCHASED IN SUPERMARKETS
Some regions , such as Lombardy, collaborate with local health agencies to provide celiac disease patients with a reimbursement, in the form of a monthly budget, to spend at the affiliated outlets and at all the major supermarket chains.

The citizen is provided with a code , which is sent directly home, by post, which entitles him to purchase gluten-free products at participating supermarkets. Alternatively, you can always make purchases at pharmacies. The new IT systems also allow you to split the spending according to your needs and allow everyone to better control how much the available budget remains.

According to the Italian Celiac Association , depending on the Regions, which however implement different policies also as regards the provision of benefits for people with celiac disease, sometimes it may be more convenient to buy some products at retailers supermarkets that not in Pharmacy. In fact, several studies have shown that the difference between the products purchased in pharmacies and the one bought in a common supermarket is quite large and variable, even in this case, from region to region.

A valid advice, therefore, regardless of the region in which you reside is to do some preliminary research and carefully compare the prices of products that are consumed more, especially by virtue of the fact that the coupons that the state provides for coeliacs have a limited expense ceiling.

If the state pension will not be enough for the citizens to live a dignified life when they stop working, what solution can be taken into consideration to think about their own future? Pension funds, at the moment, are the best answer, provided you know how to choose them with intelligence and accuracy, avoiding scams and unpleasant surprises. Here is what it is and how pension funds work.



How pension funds work
HOW PENSION FUNDS WORK
During their working life, working citizens, who are employees or self-employed, pay the State, INPS more precisely, the contributions that will help them receive a pension check when they stop working and have reached the fateful retirement age.

To this day it works like this: the working citizens pay contributions that the state needs to pay current pensions, while those who are now retired have provided during their working life to pay the State essential contributions to pay pensions at the time.

A sort of cycle, in short, but it could be abruptly interrupted if the state does not have enough money to pay everyone's pensions. The theme has become increasingly hot in recent years and even today the debate around pensions is more intense than ever. As things currently stand, and unless the law on the pension system changes as soon as possible, the money that citizens will receive once they retire may not be enough to ensure a dignified life, and this is especially true of new generations.



If the pension, in fact, is calculated on the basis of the salary itself and on the basis of the years of contributions paid, it is clear that, with the crisis in the world of work , future pensions will be at risk or, even worse, it is possible that, if the legislation remains at present, most Italian citizens will not receive any pension, if not a pale allowance equal to a few hundred euros.

To this is added the age- old problem of retirement age which, to date, is still subject to regulatory discussions and could change from one moment to the next, lowering or rising even more than the current one.

What to do then? The most effective answer to this type of problem is given by pension funds , a sort of insurance through which citizens join the pension that will receive a sort of income autonomous and independent from the state provision.

In doing so, the citizens would secure other income, in addition to the pension provided by the state, which, if not satisfactory, would be supplemented by the pension fund money that the worker has paid into their own account through an alternative pension plan .

But what is a pension fund ? And how does it work in detail?

The pension fund , in our legal system, is a tool that aims to guarantee a supplementary pension to be considered side by side to that which is due, under the law, to all working citizens once all the contributions paid have accrued.

The first thing to know about this is that joining a pension fund is free and integrative and differs from the state pension for a fundamental reason. The former has a "pay-as-you-go" system; this means that the contributions paid today are the source from which the State will draw for tomorrow's pensions.



Pension funds, on the other hand, have a "capitalization" system ; this means that the money allocated to a certain fund, and paid by the citizen, will be available to him only, without the citizens having to contribute to the future pensions of others.

To date there are different types of pension funds; the Fondi di Catego ria and the Open Pension Funds . The latter are the result of an agreement between social agreements and arise from initiatives by banks, insurance companies and asset management companies. The former, on the other hand, stem from collective agreements involving companies and trade unions.

THE PHASES OF ACTIVITY OF A PENSION FUND
The assets of a pension fund can be summarized in several stages:

Contribution : citizens pay the money in the chosen fund
During this phase, in general, the amounts can be modified , suspended or resumed at any time as needed. After a certain period of time it is also possible to request the transfer of the money accumulated to another fund.

The fund will undertake to prepare in a timely manner the periodic communications that citizens will receive directly at home, by mail, so as to be able to view the development of their personal practice.

During this phase, citizens can also request advance payments, provided that the motivation is always valid and documented, as in these cases:

Health costs
Purchase or renovation of your home or that of your children
For personal reasons if an average of 8 years has elapsed since enrollment
Citizens can also request a redemption in the following cases:

Unemployment for at least one year (only 50%)
Total and permanent invalidity
Management : resources are invested by qualified entities
Accumulation : individual capitalization and creation of an account on which money will be accumulated over time
Withdrawal : when the pension fund is required to pay the money that citizens have saved and set aside over time
PENSION FUNDS AND TAX SYSTEMS
Pension funds are subject to special tax regimes. For the final services, the law provides for a withholding tax of 15%, which tends to decrease by 0.3% each year and after the fifteenth year of participation in the Fund.



Pension funds are also subject to tax treatment on financial returns, with a tax with a substitute tax of 11% instead of the general rate of 12.5%

CHOOSE THE PENSION FUND
But which pension fund to choose? This is the question that all citizens ask themselves. The first criterion of choice is the direct and indirect cost that is applied to the capital of the pension fund; some are taken directly from the payments made, others are requested indirectly from the assets of the investment line.
The second criterion for choosing a pension fund is the company that manages it ; how much experience do you have on this? What is your story? How do you manage the collected assets? And how do you distribute it? These are all questions that should be made when choosing a pension fund.

It is then necessary to be duly informed on all the modalities of the disbursement of annuity money , for example if there is, or not, the possibility of obtaining a reversible annuity, if there is the possibility to receive an income for a certain number of years and so on.

TAKE OUT A PENSION FUND
To activate a supplementary pension it is essential to adhere to a specific program offered by a Pension Fund. Access can be granted:

Private and public employees
Self-employed workers and freelancers
Subjects without income that are fiscally charged to the family
At the time of accession, private employees can choose whether to also activate the payment of severance pay . In doing so, the savings made by the supplementary pension are corroborated by the employer. Together with the TFR you can also pay personal contributions, in addition to contributions paid by the employer.

It is also possible to opt for a collective membership of the pension fund ; in this way the supplementary pension is provided by the TFR and by the contributions deducted from the payroll.

ELEMENTS TO BE EVALUATED IN CHOOSING THE PENSION FUND
Before choosing to join a pension fund, some elements should be assessed:

The years that are missing from the state pension
Any risks related to the investment
In any case, and whatever your choice, do not forget to read and carefully analyze the information notes, the Rules and the relevant General Conditions .

To view the offer, especially if you are not very skilled in terms of pension, it is very useful to consult the site Covip.it , on the Supervisory Board on pension funds. You will thus be able to access a database that will provide you with all the information regarding available pension funds, returns and the related management costs.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Summing up all the information concerning membership of a pension fund, here are the advantages that are expected of a citizen:

Tax concessions provided for each plan
Possibility to have net returns depending on the chosen financial manager
Contribution payable by the employer
No fixed quota obligation if you do not choose to allocate the TFR
On the other hand, here instead what could be the disadvantages :

The fruits of the investment are not immediate but long-term
Participative shares are not tradable on real estate markets
PROTECTION RULES
In order to guarantee the pension investment, the law has established some rules to be respected by both parties:

Obligation to have a custodian bank that takes responsibility for accepting the assets
Identification of managers according to a selection subject to the supervisory authority
Acceptance of rules that prevent conflict of interest
Obligation to indicate the restrictions on investments
Control task entrusted to Covip, the supervisory authority
The Board of Directors of the fund will have extensive management autonomy and may delegate the custodian bank and the management company, in compliance with all the rules that regulate the code of ethics.

HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF FROM ATTEMPTS AT FRAUD
When it comes to pension funds, fraud and deception are always around the corner. Often, especially at a difficult time like this, it is easy to let yourself be discouraged by the future without knowing exactly what to do. What matters is maintaining the right clarity that will serve you to make the right choice for you and your needs.

Whoever is the entity you are addressing always remember that :

The pension fund is not mandatory or necessarily necessary. If you prefer you can leave the TFR in the company, even in the form of annuity or in securities or postal coupons.
The pension fund is a free choice of the citizen: therefore avoid signing contracts that prohibit the exit from the pension fund.
The pension fund must be secure in real terms, otherwise it is better to let it go
The pension fund policy must be transparent to those who subscribe to it
The Pension Fund must be advantageous from the fiscal point of view for the citizen who signs it
It is better than the contract that does not have too tight time constraints