-
Market and social insurance
In the second pillar, everything remains the same: The "LOB 21" reform was clearly rejected in the referendum held on 22 September 2024. There are changes in pillar 3a, where it will be possible to make up shortfalls in contributions in future. The Federal Council has put forward an initial proposal regarding the implementation and financing of the 13th OASI pension.
Market and social insurance
Occupational benefits reform ("LOB 21")
The "LOB 21" reform was clearly rejected in the referendum held on 22 September 2024, with 67% of the votes against. The statutory minimum conversion rate therefore remains unchanged at 6.8% and in future will continue to place a burden on pension funds with LOB-related pension solutions. The unsystematic redistribution of income from the young to the old persists unabated.
The pension situation of part-time employees and employees on low salaries also remains unsatisfactory. You can find out what you as an employer can do to improve things for these groups of people specifically, even in the absence of reform, in the "Products and benefits" section.
Implementation and financing of the 13th OASI pension – current status
In the summer of 2024, the Federal Council presented the core details regarding the implementation and financing of the 13th OASI pension payment, and in the autumn, it adopted a message in this regard to parliament. It is envisaged that the 13th OASI pension payment will be paid once a year in December, for the first time in 2026. Value-added tax will be increased by 0.7 percentage points in order to finance this. At the same time, it is planned to reduce the federal share of OASI expenditure from 20.2% to 19.5%.
The 13th OASI pension payment is not expected to have any effect on the coordination deduction and the other limits applicable to compulsory occupational benefits. The same goes for the assessment of pension plan adequacy.
The proposal will now go to the National Council and the Council of States for deliberation. We will inform you about the outcome in the next edition of "Helvetia – News on the 2nd Pillar".
Purchases in pillar 3a
In private tied pension provision, pillar 3a, it will be possible to make up shortfalls in contributions in future by making additional purchases.
Social insurance key figures 2025
On 1 January 2025, OASI and IV pensions will be adjusted in line with inflation and salary trends. You can find the most important key figures and limits in the first, second and third pillar of our social insurance system in the following diagram.
Contributions for OASI, IV and LEC are subject to the following changes:
- The minimum contributions for the self-employed and those not in gainful employment will increase from CHF 514 to CHF 530 a year.
- For voluntary OASI/IV, the minimum contribution will rise from CHF 980 to CHF 1,010.
- The declining contribution scale for the self-employed will now be applied to salaries between CHF 10,100 (previously CHF 9,800) and CHF 60,500 (previously CHF 58,800).
- The threshold for low salaries, from which OASI contributions must generally be deducted only at the employee's request, will increase from CHF 2,300 to CHF 2,500.
The minimum rates of family allowances will also be adjusted on 1 January 2025. The child allowance will rise from CHF 200 to CHF 215 and the education allowance from CHF 250 to CHF 268 a month. The cantons still have the option to set higher rates.
Adjustment of current compulsory LOB survivors' and disability pensions
By law, survivors’ and disability pensions paid under compulsory occupational benefit schemes must be periodically adjusted in line with inflation. The adjustment is based on the Swiss Consumer Price Index. The first adjustment of a pension is generally carried out after three years at the beginning of the following calendar year. Subsequent adjustments are made at the same time as adjustments to OASI/IV pensions.
On 1 January 2025, pensions will be adjusted in line with inflation as follows – depending on the date of the first payment:
Author: Caroline Diem