The volume of inheritance continues to increase: the Swiss inherit almost 90 billion; That’s twice as much as AHV pays.

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According to Marius Brülhart (56), professor of economics at the University of Lausanne, approximately 88 billion francs changed hands through inheritance in 2022. Of this, 23 billion francs, or about a quarter of the total volume, were donations and inheritance prepayments. For comparison: total AHV spending in the same period amounted to approximately 47.8 billion francs.

Yes. According to Brülhart, inheritance and transfer tax revenues increased by an average of 4.7 percent annually between 2014 and 2021. This is an increase almost three times higher than the average economic growth over the same period (1.6 percent).

“The volume of inheritances will probably continue to increase both in francs and in proportion to national income,” says Brülhart. On the one hand, we in Switzerland have an internationally record saving rate, which often extends into older ages. On the other hand, real estate prices and stock prices continue to increase faster than national income.

In Switzerland, which has a population of 9 million, this year the average inheritance per person will be around 10 thousand francs. However, the distribution of inheritance sums reflects the unequal distribution of assets: according to ZHAW research, 10 percent of heirs in Switzerland receive approximately 75 percent of the inheritance volume. One-third of the Swiss population has no inheritance.

According to a pension study by insurance company Axa, most Swiss people only receive an inheritance when they reach retirement age. Only 10 percent of Swiss people receive an inheritance due to death before reaching the age of 60. This is also reflected in the distribution of wealth: only 14 percent of Swiss people under 30 have assets over 250,000 francs, compared to 48 percent of those aged 60-65.

Shouldn’t assets be transferred, if possible, to people who can do something with them? So, are you going to apprentice, start a business, or buy a house? “We see in the data that gifts and inheritances from working-age recipients are used primarily to reduce workload or retire earlier,” says Brülhart. If the goal is to strengthen performance incentives for working-age groups, then allowing assets to circulate among retirees is not so wrong.

The partially revised Swiss inheritance law has been in force since January 2023. With the new regulations, you will be able to decide more flexibly and independently who will inherit how much. According to the ZHAW research, the rate of those who are satisfied with the standard solution, that is, the regulation of inheritance by the legislature, remains high. Brülhart is currently investigating whether the number of wills and advance directives is increasing.

Source :Blick