Pension assets at ComPlan, the pension fund for the employees of Swisscom, have increased to CHF12.16bn (€12.9bn) last year, from CHF11.80bn in 2022, according to its fiscal year 2023 report released by Swisscom today.
Last year, the pension scheme returned 4.1%, a positive result compared with -8.5% in 2022, it said. The estimated funding ratio of comPlan was 114.5% at the end of December, up from 108.2% in 2022, according to Swiss accounting regulations (Swiss GAAP FER 26).
The GAAP FER 26 differs from the valuation according to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) for the use of a different discount rate and actuarial valuation model, with deferred cost recorded for future pension benefits, according to ComPlan.
ComPlan has applied an interest rate of 1.75% on members’ savings last year, above the minimum, and above 1.50% applied in 2022, it added.
It won’t increase pensions in line with inflation because it does not have sufficient fluctuation reserves for this purpose, Swisscom said.
ComPlan’s board of trustees has changed rules on pensions in the fourth quarter of last year, as a result of the reforms to the first pillar pensions sytem (AHV 21) increasing the retirement age for women, the same as for men, both in the first and second pillar pension system.
The statutory retirement age of 65 will apply from 2028.
ComPlan has already set the retirement age at 65 for both men and women, with an exception for so-called bridging pension for women, benefits paid to people who are about to reach retirement age but lose their job, that was adjusted by changing rules on pensions, it said.
As a result, some CHF7m was calculated as past service cost in ComPlan’s income statement to reassess net obligations using the current market values of the plan assets, current actuarial assumptions, and risk sharing aspects, it added.
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