Question about the canton

The Canton of Aargau made headlines repeatedly because welfare recipients had to use capital from the pension fund to pay social benefits. Now the government council of Aargau, by its decree, stopped this action. I discussed this in my July column.

I will return to this problem, because this is not the whole story and because the matter is not so simple.

You must distinguish. On the one hand, the question arises: can social security agencies require the payment of social assistance from the pension fund from those in need of support? And on the other hand: can the social security authorities stop providing social assistance five years before retirement age? This is with an indication that those who need support can receive an early payment of pension fund assets to replace social assistance.

The first item, the redemption of social security with pension fund capital, was the subject of my discussion in the column above. This is only the second point.

Tobias Hoby is Legal Counsel for the Independent Bureau of Social Security Law (UFS). He knows a specific case where the municipality of St. Gallen canceled social assistance for a 61-year-old man. Only with a hint that he can withdraw money from the 2nd pillar in advance and thus earn his living. According to the Occupational Pensions Act (BVG), early withdrawal of funds from the capital of a pension fund is permitted no earlier than five years before the normal AHV retirement age, at 59 for women and 60 for men.

You can evaluate this approach or not. But the question is: is such a procedure legal at all? Is it possible to cancel social assistance to a person in need of support with reference to the fact that he can be paid the capital of the pension fund?

Social assistance is the business of the cantons. And there is no answer to this question in the relevant cantonal laws and regulations. At best, it says: “Economic assistance is measured according to the guidelines of the Swiss Conference on Social Assistance.” And under these Skos guidelines, those in need of support should only be required to disband Tier 2 if AHV can also be withdrawn early. This means: women at 62, men at 63. From this age, you can also apply for additional benefits if the pension is not enough to live on.

Instructions are recommendations, not instructions. Cantons are not required to adhere to it if they do not want to. According to the Skos 2021 monitoring, 18 cantons say they do not require the withdrawal of pension fund assets before the age of 62 or 63. But at least five cantons see the possibility of early withdrawal before receiving the AHV pension as soon as possible, depending on the situation, and one canton only in exceptional cases.