Federal Council amends ordinance From 2025 you can make additional payments into pillar 3
Anyone who has not paid any contributions or only partial contributions into pillar 3a of the pension plan in certain years can now make up for this. The Federal Council amended an ordinance to this effect on Wednesday and brought it into force at the beginning of 2025.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The Swiss government is now allowing tax-privileged additional payments into pillar 3a.
- This could lead to an estimated annual reduction in income of CHF 100 to 150 million.
- On Saturday, Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter commented on pillar 3a.
- She warns that if the tax relief package fails, there is a risk of tax increases, which would place a particular burden on the middle classes.
By amending the ordinance on the tax deductibility of contributions to recognized forms of pension provision, the national government is fulfilling a parliamentary mandate. Anyone in Switzerland with an income subject to AHV contributions can pay into pillar 3a - the tied private pension plan.
Subsequent payments - a maximum of CHF 7,258 in 2025 - can only be made for years with income subject to AHV contributions in Switzerland and only in years in which such income was earned.
The ordinary annual contribution to the tax-privileged pillar 3a must also have been paid in full before a catch-up purchase. The Federal Council estimates that the additional payments will reduce federal tax revenue by CHF 100 to 150 million per year.
Karin Keller-Sutter wants to hit the middle classes in the wallet
On Saturday, blue News reported on the statements made by Federal Councillor and Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter: "If the tax relief package fails, taxes will have to be increased," said Keller-Sutter in an interview published on Saturday by "Schweiz am Wochenende", "Südostschweiz" and "Le Temps".
Such an increase would primarily burden the middle class. The discussion about tax adjustments to capital withdrawals from the second and third pillars is a proposal from the Gaillard group of experts and only a small part of the planned relief package, as the Finance Minister said. But "it cannot be ruled out that the Federal Council will, for example, waive the measure on the third pillar during the consultation process", Keller-Sutter continued.
In view of the unfavorable budget outlook for the coming years, the Federal Council announced in September that federal spending would be cut by CHF 3.6 billion from 2027 and by CHF 4.6 billion by 2030. The primary focus will be on expenditure. This plan is based on the report by a group of experts chaired by the former head of the Federal Finance Administration, Serge Gaillard, which was presented at the beginning of September.
Although the deficit for 2023 is lower than expected - around CHF 900 million instead of CHF 2.6 billion - the long-term financial situation remains tense, emphasized Keller-Sutter. Additional burdens, such as the introduction of the 13th AHV pension from 2026, would make budget planning even more difficult.
SDA
