Changes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pillars

Bern, 21.09.2018 - The old-age and survivors' insurance (OASI) and disability insurance (DI) benefits will be adjusted January 1, 2019, based on the changes in wages and prices. The Federal Council made this decision during its 21 September 2018 session. The minimum OASI/DI benefit will be increased to 1185 francs per month. At the same time, changes will be made to fund contributions, supplementary benefits, and obligatory occupational pension funds.

The minimum OASI/DI benefit will increase from 1175 to 1185 francs per month, and the maximum benefit will increase from 2350 to 2370 francs (for a full contribution period). Annual supplementary benefits, designed to cover basic needs, will increase from 19,290 to 19,450 francs for singles, from 28,935 to 29,175 francs for couples, and from 10,080 to 10,170 francs for orphans. Benefits for disabled persons will also be adjusted.

The minimum OASI/DI/maternity-leave fund contribution for self-employed and those not gainfully employed will increase from 478 to 482 francs per year, and the minimum contribution to the voluntary OASI/DI fund will increase from 914 to 922 francs.

An increase in benefits last took place in 2015; the small change in salaries and prices since then has been insufficient to justify an increase. In principle, the Federal Council assesses the need to adjust the OASI and DI benefits every two years. In making its decision, it relies on the recommendation of the OASI/DI Federal Committee as well as on the combined index which is the mathematical average of the wages index and the price index.

Cost of the increase in benefits

Raising the benefits will incur additional costs of approximately 430 million francs. The OASI fund will shoulder an additional cost of around 380 million francs, of which 74 million will be borne by the Confederation (which funds 19.55% of the insurance's costs). The DI fund will shoulder an additional cost of 50 million francs. In this case, the Confederation will not see any increase in costs, since its contribution to the DI fund is no longer calculated as a percentage of costs. The increase in OASI/DI supplementary benefits will impose an additional cost of 1.3 million francs on the Confederation and 0.8 million on the cantons.

Adjustment of occupational pension contribution amounts

The automatic withholding that is part of the obligatory occupational pension will increase from 24,675 to 24,885 francs, and the minimum threshold will be raised from 21,150 to 21,330 francs. The maximum authorized tax withholding for the linked individual pension fund (pillar 3a) will increase to 6826 francs (compared with 6768 today) for those persons with a second pillar, and to 34,128 francs (compared with 33,840) for those without. These adjustments will also go into effect on 1 January 2019.

AMOUNTS IN EFFECT STARTING 1 JANUARY 2019

Source : Admin.ch