Old-age provision Federal Council opposes popular initiative to abolish the AHV marriage penalty

SDA

7.3.2025 - 15:15

Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider explains to media representatives in Bern why the Federal Council rejects the popular initiative of the center for the abolition of the marriage penalty in the AHV.
Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider explains to media representatives in Bern why the Federal Council rejects the popular initiative of the center for the abolition of the marriage penalty in the AHV.
Keystone

The Federal Council does not want married people to continue to receive two full AHV pensions. As previously announced, it recommends a "No" to the centrist popular initiative to abolish the OASI marriage penalty and does not want a counter-proposal to it.

Keystone-SDA

The centrist popular initiative "Yes to fair AHV pensions for married couples too - finally abolish discrimination against marriage!" aims to abolish the pension cap. If two full pensions had to be paid out, this would cost the AHV 3.6 billion Swiss francs in 2030, the Federal Council wrote in its dispatch on Friday.

The costs are likely to be even higher later on. The initiative makes no proposal as to how these costs could be covered and the AHV lacks the means to pay for them, the Federal Council criticized. In order to finance two pensions for married couples, wage contributions or VAT would have to be increased.

The Federal Council writes that the AHV should not be burdened even more after the 13th pension - which will be paid out from 2026. Parliament will now decide.