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Report nowA few francs from your paycheck, a few centimes when shopping: This is how Parliament plans to finance the 13th AHV pension. The blue News calculator shows you how much you would pay for it.
Update: On Thursday, June 11, the Council of States approved the compromise proposal by a vote of 26 to 19, or 26 to 18.
A few days ago, a blue News reader asked why the public still has to wait for the 13th AHV pension—after all, the referendum’s “yes” vote was over two years ago. The fact is: The first “thirteenth” will be paid out this December. That is now set in stone.
However, it remains unclear how this 13th AHV pension will be financed. For months, there has been a heated debate in the Federal Parliament over how much each party should contribute to the financing. The lines have hardened. The dispute centers on the following questions: Should shopping in stores (i.e., consumption) become more expensive by raising the value-added tax? Should workers contribute through social financing, with higher earners paying more than lower-income individuals? Or should a completely different approach be chosen?
Now a compromise proposal is on the table that, according to the SP, the Greens, and the Center, takes a more socially equitable approach: Those who earn a lot pay more in Swiss francs.
blue News has created a calculator that uses your salary and approximate consumer spending to calculate how much the 13th AHV pension will cost you.
Gemäss Kompromiss der Einigungskonferenz: +0,2 Lohnprozente (je hälftig Angestellte und Arbeitgeber) und +0,4 Mehrwertsteuer-Prozentpunkte.
Vereinfachte Berechnung: Lohnabzug = 0,1 Prozent des Bruttolohns (die Hälfte der Erhöhung um 0,2 Prozentpunkte, die andere Hälfte trägt der Arbeitgeber). Mehrwertsteuer = 0,4 Prozent der angegebenen Konsumausgaben. Jahreswerte mit 12 Monatslöhnen gerechnet – auf einem allfälligen 13. Monatslohn fällt der Abzug ebenfalls an.
The compromise proposal was negotiated in the so-called Conciliation Conference: This is a special body consisting of 13 members each from the Council of States and the National Council, made up of seven members from the SVP, six each from the SP and the Center, five from the FDP, and two representatives from the Greens.
The fact that a Conciliation Conference has been convened means one thing: the lines in the National Council and Council of States are so entrenched that politicians could not even reach a compromise behind closed doors in their committees. In such cases, groups of equal size are formed from both chambers of parliament to seek a compromise one last time.
On Wednesday morning, the result was announced: The majority wants to raise not only the value-added tax to finance the expansion of the AHV, but also payroll contributions. The compromise means an additional burden for employees and employers—and makes consumption more expensive.
However, the burden is not the same for everyone. The reason: purchases of “daily necessities” are not affected by the 0.4 percentage point VAT increase. For someone spending 100 francs on groceries, consumption will not become more expensive. But for someone spending 100 francs on a hair appointment, clothes, or alcohol, the cost will increase by 40 centimes.
There is also a “but” regarding the payroll contribution: it is set to rise by 0.2 percentage points to 8.9 percent. This is split between employees and employers—though higher earners will be asked to pay more in absolute terms: Those earning 5,000 francs gross per month will now pay 5 francs more per month for the 13th AHV pension—and so will their employer. Those earning a hefty 18,000 francs per month can expect 18 francs more in payroll deductions.
With this compromise proposal, the SP, Greens, and Center were able to prevail. They want to permanently finance the 13th AHV pension through a mix of VAT and payroll contributions. They base their argument on the AHV logic, according to which payroll contributions have no upper limit: A billionaire pays significantly more into the AHV than a working-class person, so that the AHV is supported by broader shoulders—but when it comes to payouts, the same AHV maximum amount of around 2,500 francs applies to both.
On the other side are the SVP, FDP, and GLP, who reject any increase in payroll deductions. They warn that higher non-wage labor costs would mean less take-home pay and would hit young families and the lower middle class the hardest. SP faction leader Samira Marti vehemently disagreed: The mixed solution with payroll contributions is “precisely for families with middle incomes […] the significantly more favorable option.”
The center-right bloc rejects the compromise but does not see itself as an obstructionist: It wanted to raise the value-added tax more sharply, but only temporarily—to maintain pressure for a major AHV reform.
Following the conciliation conference, the FDP made its position unmistakably clear: “Hands off wages,” its statement read—it would reject the compromise “and also fight it in a potential referendum.”
A “no” vote on the compromise is therefore expected in particular from the SVP, FDP, and GLP. The specific motion to reject the compromise was tabled in the conciliation conference by a minority of eleven SVP and FDP members: Council of States member Esther Friedli (SVP/SG) and Council of States members Josef Dittli (FDP/UR), Hannes Germann (SVP/SH) and Damian Müller (FDP/LU), as well as National Council members Diana Gutjahr (SVP/TG) and Regine Sauter (FDP/ZH) and National Council members Cyril Aellen (FDP/GE), Thomas Aeschi (SVP/ZG), Thomas de Courten (SVP/BL), Andreas Glarner (SVP/AG), and Rémy Wyssmann (SVP/SO).
What happens next? On Thursday, the Council of States approved the compromise motion. Next week, the National Council will vote. Then there will be a final vote the Friday after next.
If even one of the two chambers says no, the bill fails —and Parliament would have to start all over again. This doesn’t change anything regarding the 13th AHV pension itself: It will be paid out for the first time in December; that’s a done deal.
However, as long as no additional funding is secured, it will be paid out of the AHV fund’s reserves. That costs around 4.5 billion francs per year. And even if Parliament approves the compromise, the matter isn’t settled: Because the VAT increase requires a constitutional amendment, it must be put to a public vote. The public’s decision won’t be known until after the first 13th AHV pension is paid out. However, citizens can already use the calculator to figure out how much they would have to pay for the 13th AHV pension.
The left and the unions won the referendum on the 13th AHV pension, in part by arguing that the “thirteenth” is a necessary offset for inflation and rising fixed costs and that the AHV must secure people’s livelihoods.
The strongest argument from the “no” camp concerned the uncertain financing issue. The “scattergun” approach—whereby everyone benefits from the 13th AHV pension, even those who do not depend on it—was also frequently criticized. Another criticism was that the 13th AHV pension lacks solidarity with the younger generation, as they will be asked to foot the bill through higher consumption or payroll taxes throughout their lives.
