Variants have different consequences: This is what you need to know about financing your 13th AHV pension

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After the clear yes to the 13th AHV pension, SP councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (60) presented her plans on Wednesday on how she wants to implement the initiative: through wage percentages and VAT. The different financing options have different consequences.

If the 13th AHV pension were paid under the current system and the federal contribution for the AHV remained at 20.2 percent as is currently the case, the premium result for the first pillar would already be in 2026, the year in which the supplementary pension was entered will be negative. The deficit would rise to 7.3 billion francs by 2033. The AHV fund could still cover 45 percent of current pensions in the same year. The AHV fund would then be empty in 2037. In other words, the federal government cannot simply wait.

The Federal Council is considering two options for financing the AHV: either wage contributions should increase by 0.8 percentage points, or a combination of another 0.5 wage percentage points and a VAT increase of 0.4 percentage points should come into play . Both variants would bring in billions.

In all presented variants, the federal contribution for the AHV will be reduced from the current 20.2 percent to 18.7 percent. This rule should apply until the next AHV reform comes into effect. To compensate for the lower federal contribution, the Federal Council also proposes two variants: The first provides for the withdrawal of the money from the AHV fund. In this case, the AHV fund could still cover 84 percent of current pensions in 2033. The second variant wants more income: or wage contributions must be increased by an additional 0.2 percentage points. In this case, the AHV fund would be 96 percent full in 2033. If wage contributions were to increase by an additional 0.1 percentage point and VAT were to increase by an additional 0.2 percentage point, the fund level would be around 99 percent in 2033.

The Federal Council will present a new AHV reform for the 2030s by the end of 2026. Structural measures such as raising the retirement age and other financing options that cannot be realized in the short term must then be re-examined.

The Federal Council wants to present the message about the financing of the 13th AHV pension in the autumn. Then it is Parliament’s turn. The Federal Council wants to ensure that the legal adjustments can enter into force in early 2026, even if there are delays in financing or if they are rejected in a possible referendum. (SDA/oco)

Source:Blick