EL cuts hit retirees hard: ‘If it continues like this, I will emigrate’

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Sepp Schiesser* (78) heard about the bad news from the health insurer. The former mailbox driver and his wife will have to make do with fewer allowances (EL) in the future. In particular, the canton of Ticino, where they live, now contributes less to health insurance costs. This amounts to approximately 350 francs per month that is suddenly missing.

For the Schiessers, who wish to remain anonymous in this article, that is a lot of money. With AHV and pension fund they have a monthly amount of 4,000 francs at their disposal. With the EL cuts, almost a tenth of the monthly budget will be lost. “So far we have managed well, we have not gone hungry,” says Sepp Schiesser. But now he’s worried.

Tens of thousands of seniors are affected

Many retirees feel the same way as he does. New EL rules have been in force since the beginning of this year. Parliament had already decided on the reform years ago, and now the transition period between the old and the new law ended around the turn of the year.

To be entitled to EL, you may, for example, now have even fewer assets than before. There are also new maximum amounts for rent and health insurance. The Swiss Conference for Social Welfare (Skos) estimates that around 70,000 seniors, as well as IV recipients, are now receiving less EL.

The change comes at an inopportune time. The population is currently struggling with rising rents, food prices, electricity and petrol costs. Sepp Schiesser is bitter. “If things continue like this, I will emigrate, for better or for worse,” he says. He imagines his retirement in Gran Canaria or Germany. Because in Germany, he explains, there are communities where retirees have to pay little or no taxes.

There’s no more coffee

Reader Roland Zaugg (65), who contacted Blick, is also thinking about emigrating because of the EL cutbacks. After working in Switzerland for forty years, he writes, he wonders whether it would not be better to move abroad. No additional benefits are paid there, but depending on the country, the Swiss pension is worth much more.

Retirees living near or below the poverty line often have no choice but to save even more on food or social life to offset the EL discount. An EL recipient says that the 70 francs less he now receives means that the coffee he occasionally treats himself when he goes out is no longer available. He can no longer afford the train ticket to the nearest city or new clothes.

There are also people who turn down the heating as a cost-saving measure, says Peter Burri Follath of Pro Senectute. The organization offers advice to affected seniors. She is critical, among other things, of the fact that applying for EL has become even more complicated and demanding due to the reform.

Pro Senectute expects “very problematic hardships”

Burri Follath says only a few people affected by the EL cut have turned to Pro Senectute for help. Many people are not yet fully aware of the consequences. However, he assumes that the change will lead to “very problematic hardships”.

The cut hurts, says an affected person, who also only wants to talk about her situation anonymously. She is dependent on the EL and now has to get food from the organization “Tischlein deck dich” because almost 300 francs are lost per month. “The fact that we are saving money is incredibly sad.”

* Name changed

Source:Blick