Beyond active ageing: pension reforms, segmentation and intersectionality in the Italian labour market

Purpose This paper analyses structural inequalities in the Italian labour market for the over-55 population. It investigates how pension reforms (e.g. Fornero Act) intersect with industrial transformations, challenging universalistic active ageing rhetoric to reveal the segmentation of late-career employment. Design/methodology/approach Using ISTAT Labour Force Survey microdata (2004, 2014 and 2024), the study employs a repeated cross-sectional design. It maps older workers' distribution across 12 macro-sectors, applying intersectional analysis to correlate patterns with gender, education and territory. Findings Results reveal a shift to statutory retention marked by segmentation rather than inclusion. Low-skilled workers are trapped in precarious agricultural roles (precarity trap), while information and communication technology (ICT) functions as an exclusive elite enclave. Conversely, the public sector acts as an institutional buffer, stabilising employment for Southern women. Consequently, extended working lives exacerbate stratification through the intersectionality of age, gender, and territory. Practical implications Findings urge targeted interventions: implementing phased retirement in public sectors, addressing digital exclusion through tailored reskilling, and mitigating the structural precarity of Southern women via gender-sensitive pension credits and hiring incentives. Originality/value Unlike studies focussing on supply-side individual adaptability, this research provides a structural analysis of labour inertia in Italy. It highlights the sector-specific nature of ageism, framing late-career inequalities as cumulative disadvantage, where rigid pension policies interact with industrial segmentation to generate occupational lock-in.