Members of the Board of Trustees of the Helvetia Group Foundation and their statements

In autumn 2019, the Board of Trustees of the Helvetia Group Foundation was elected for the fourth term of office from 2020 to 2024.

The body is made up of employee and employer representatives. They come from the pension commissions of the approximately 9'000 companies that have joined the Foundation.

Statements employee representatives

Digitalization and costs

Mirjam Brucker, President
Oracle Software (Switzerland), Zurich

Digitalization is a process rather than an objective that can be achieved at some point. By their very nature, technologies are continuously evolving. In highly management-intensive and heavily regulated areas such as occupational benefits schemes, it is essential to have a digital presence. All legal and administrative requirements need to be met at all times. New technologies should not be a bottomless pit, but should come to the fore as a tool for the organization of occupational benefits. That's what I am working to achieve. My objective: to promote digitalization and in doing so reduce the cost of occupational benefits.

Communication and transparency

Jörg Bläsi
Fraisa SA, Bellach

Everyone talks about communication. We always communicate, but often don't make ourselves understood. Occupational benefits schemes call for transparency. The question is whether a complex topic can be presented simply and comprehensibly. Transparency certainly has a lot to do with good communication. Communication should therefore be used to establish transparency wherever possible and necessary. This is what I am working to achieve. My objective: customers and insured persons who understand the essentials of their occupational benefits scheme and can draw the conclusions that matter for them.

Our values

Stefan Burkart
Fröhlich Architektur AG, Pfäffikon

We are living at a time of rapid change, in an increasingly transparent world with a growing population, ageing societies in the industrialized countries and a future subject to many uncertainties. The Helvetia Group Foundation is a safe haven with a clearly defined purpose. Keeping our pension assets secure is and should remain the Helvetia Foundation's top priority. This is what I am working to achieve. My objective: a pension solution fit for purpose in the event of disability, death or retirement for each and every insured person.

Statements employer representatives

Intergenerational justice

Giuseppe Roccia, Vice President
AMAC Aerospace Switzerland AG, Basel

Giving and taking, everything at the right time and in the right place. That's what intergenerational justice is about. It is a task that runs through the economy, politics and society, which means we are all affected by it as both givers and takers. For example, we bring up children, we feed them and we open all the doors for them, and we take care of the older generation when they become tired and frail. That's the way it should be for every generation and that's the way it should stay in the future. New life models, prosperity, climate change, globalization and digitalization don't make it easy to meet all the demands of each generation all of the time. Nevertheless, social peace takes precedence over everything. That's what I am working to achieve. My objective: a Helvetia Group Foundation with modern benefits, at all times for young and old.

Strategic challenges; Demographics, interest rates, baby boomers

Today, more than ever before, employee benefit schemes are faced with the need to guarantee benefits for future beneficiaries over the long term. People are living longer and are therefore receiving benefits for longer. Investments therefore need to generate ever-higher returns to cover this entitlement. In an environment of low interest rates and amid a wave of retiring baby boomers, this is no easy task. I fully support the current pension reform plans. My objective: fair benefits for all insured persons – now and in the future.

Foundation objectives: customer needs – up-to-date – price/performance – service

Thomas Graf
thomasgraf ag, Bern

People today lead lives with a great diversity of layers. In a modern, affluent Switzerland, the possibilities for individual development are almost unlimited. But not for everyone who lives here. The gap between rich and poor is growing ever wider. Employee benefits are very much part of the system of social welfare, especially for those on lower incomes. So it's important to have sensible pension solutions that everyone can afford. This is what I am working to achieve. My objective: price and performance need to be right so that the money employees and employers contribute to occupational benefits is put to the best possible use.

Full insurance now and in the future

Stanislav Bogdanov
Alfa Treuhand- und Revisions AG, St. Gallen

Companies take risks and they want security. There is nothing contradictory about this. After all, in your own business you have to face up to risks. They can't always be avoided. The Helvetia Group Foundation provides security for occupational benefit schemes. With the full insurance model all risks are reinsured with Helvetia Life. Business owners can concentrate on their core business. Full insurance should continue to exist. This is what I am working to achieve. My objective: to maintain full insurance with realistic terms and transparency for customers.