ASIP, the Swiss pension fund association, has warned of the still unclear consequences that the vote in favour of a 13th month of first pillar pension (13. AHV-Rente) can have on the country’s second pillar pension system.

In a letter to its members, ASIP underlined that the second pillar overlaps with the first pillar with regard to the threshold to join a pension fund and the so-called coordination deduction determining the amount of the wage insured under both pillars.

The impact of the referendum is still unclear particularly for those two aspects linking the first to the second pillar, the association said. ASIP expects that “legally binding” answers will come only with decisions taken by federal administration and legislators.

From 2026, Swiss savers will receive a 13th month of pension paid out either at the end of the year, or in installments per month.

Replying to a question posed by Thomas Rechsteiner, member of parliament (MP) for Die Mitte party, home affairs minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider stated is “still unclear” how the additional pension will be paid out.

The Federal Council is examining various options and will introduce those options to Parliament alongside their impact, according to news agency Keystone-SDA.

The government stated previously that the additional pension will be paid out once a year, but the administrative burden would be lower with a monthly payment.

It also said that, according to the backers of the 13. AHV-Rente proposal, the first pillar pension supplement amount to one twelfth of the annual AHV pension, meaning that pensions would be calculated in a first step without taking the supplement into account.

The additional amount of pension would be added only in a second step, and exclusively for old-age pension, meaning that it would not affect the coordination deduction.

Last year, the Swiss parliament passed a reform of the second pillar, which will face a referendum later this year, to cut the wage threshold to join a Pensionskasse, from CHF22.050 per year, to CHF19.845 per year.

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Luigi is IPE's Berlin-based DACH correspondent. His coverage includes regulation and the latest pensions and investments trends, and, being a native Italian, he also covers Italy’s pensions market. He has reported from Italy and Germany on international politics and business for European and US publications including USA Today, Bloomberg BNA and for the investigative magazine L’Espresso. He was previously Germany correspondent for Mergermarket covering M&A.View full Profile

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