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So Berset wants to reform the 2nd pillar and that’s what he says about the blackmail attempt
Federal Councilor Alain Berset offers information on the future of pensions. And faced with the attempted blackmail, he asked that the privacy of a Federal Council be respected.
Federal Councilor Berset presents his proposed solution Image: keystone
The old-age provision needs a revamp. The social partners agreed on a reform of the occupational pension scheme (BVG) in summer 2019. The Federal Council approved this compromise unchanged as a dispatch on Wednesday. Now it is Parliament’s turn.
Berset to try to blackmail
In addition to pensions, the recently publicized blackmail attempt was also a problem: Federal Councilor Alain Berset informed the entire Federal Council on Wednesday about the blackmail attempt that had been made public. He said it in front of the Bundeshaus media. He asked that the privacy of a Federal Council be respected.
“Although it is a private matter, today I informed the entire Federal Council,” Berset said. The sentence in this case was: “This shows that I am not open to blackmail.” The matter would not have affected his work.
However, he informed Finance Minister Ueli Maurer and Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter in 2019. He stressed that it is a private matter that must also remain private: “Privacy is important, also for the members of the Federal Council, “he said. Berset did not provide further information on the blackmail attempt.
Back to employment benefits: Pensions have been under pressure for a long time. The reasons for this are increased life expectancy and low interest rates. Following the rejection of the pension reform in September 2017 by the Swiss electorate, the Federal Council launched a new attempt. The focus is on the second pillar.
With the reform of the occupational pension scheme (BVG 21), the level of pensions will be ensured, funding will be strengthened and the protection of part-time workers, and therefore women in particular, will be improved, as the Council writes Federal.
Failed multiple times
The core of the commitment of the social partners is a reduction in pensions, which is cushioned by various compensatory measures. The minimum conversion rate with which the capital saved is converted into a pension should decrease from 6.8 to 6.0 percent. As a result, 12 percent of the pension would be lost at one time.
When the pension is no longer enough to live
Video: srf / SDA SRF
A reduction in the conversion rate is essential, writes the Federal Council. Despite this widely recognized need, lowering the conversion rate failed several times at the polls.
The union and employee organizations SGB and Travail Suisse, which participated in the compromise, wrested a package of complementary measures from the employers’ association to give in. This includes adjusting for retirement credits. Today there are four sentences. The rate for people aged 45 to 54 is 15 percent, for older employees it is 18 percent.
In the future, they should amount to 14 percent of the insured salary for both age groups. For employees between the ages of 25 and 44, contributions are set at 9 percent, which is usually an increase. As a result, ancillary wage costs for older employees are increasing less sharply than they are today and becoming more attractive to employers.
Pension supplement as compensation
The compromise also foresees improvements for part-time employees, low-income employees, and therefore especially for women: the Federal Council proposes to halve the coordination deduction, which determines the insured salary, to CHF 12,443 .
That means a higher insured salary and higher contributions, but also a higher pension. Part-time employees, in particular, benefit from the lowest coordination deduction. However, for employees with multiple earnings, nothing changes because the entry threshold remains at 21,330 francs.
However, these measures are not sufficient to compensate for the pension deficit of those employees who have been working for a longer period of time. In accordance with the commitment of the social partners, the Federal Council therefore proposes a monthly pension surcharge for life for the beneficiaries of BVG pensions.
For the first five cohorts of new pensioners after the entry into force, this surcharge should be 200 francs, for the next five cohorts 150 francs and then 100 francs. Lower income and part-time employees benefit immediately from this. In addition, the pension level of a 15-year transition generation will be maintained. Accordingly, the Federal Council should fix the amount anew each year.
The surcharge is financed by a salary contribution of 0.5 percent on an annual income subject to AHV up to CHF 853,200. The second pillar does not provide for pay-as-you-go financing. According to the Federal Council, the costs for the insured amount to more than 3 billion francs.
The squad falters
The consultation criticized the commitment of the social partners that the Federal Council had adopted. The Swiss Trade Association, for example, does not support the model. He proposed to the Federal Council to lower the conversion rate without surcharges to pensions and additional salary percentages. Otherwise, the principle of the 3 pillars will be destroyed.
The pension fund association Asip also suggested an alternative: In the future, savings for old age should start at age 20. The coordination deduction will be reduced slightly and the increase in retirement credits will level off. The Asip provides a transition solution for a ten year transition generation.
In the opinion of the Federal Council, the alternative proposals do not meet one of the main objectives of the reform, namely to ensure the level of pensions. The next few years will show if the majority of Parliament sees it that way. The SP and the Greens support the engagement of the social partners.
In contrast, the proposal met with broad rejection by the bourgeois parties and the GLP. Because they have a majority in both houses, the current proposal in parliament is likely to go through a very difficult time. (aeg / sda)
