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New pensioners are to receive a higher pension in future.
Jan Woitas/dpa
The National Council has passed a controversial reform of the AHV. In future, widows will no longer receive a lifelong pension, while married couples will benefit from higher pensions.
On Wednesday morning, the National Council passed a far-reaching change to survivors' pensions. In future , widows will no longer have lifelong entitlements. This mainly affects childless women, who would no longer receive a pension in future. Widows with children will only receive money until the youngest child's 25th birthday. A transitional period of three years is planned for current pensions.
The background to this is a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which found unequal treatment between widows and widowers. The Federal Council wants to end this discrimination by reducing widows' pensions.
In the afternoon, Parliament also took aim at pensions for married couples. On the initiative of the SVP, the responsible committee added their adjustment to the same bill. The aim is to abolish the so-called married couple's ceiling. This currently stands at 150% of the maximum pension - currently CHF 3780 per month.
Unmarried couples can draw up to 5040 francs with two individual pensions. However, only new pensioners will benefit from the reform. The additional costs are estimated at around four billion francs a year.
The government's proposal provides for a two-year transitional pension for people without children. On Wednesday, the National Council voted narrowly in favor of paying this transitional pension for three years. Widows and widowers who are over 55 when the reform comes into force are exempt from it.
The SP, Greens and Center Party unsuccessfully requested that the bill be sent back to the Federal Council for revision. They objected in particular to the fact that the reform would also abolish certain widows' pensions already in payment. They also argued that linking the issue of survivors' pensions with the issue of the Married Couple's Pension Fund would lead to a redistribution from the bottom to the top.
Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider clearly criticized the resolutions. She spoke of a "reduction in benefits at the expense of the weaker members of society". In particular, the abolition of the married couple's pension fund would create new inequalities between existing and new pensioners. In addition, the financing of the reform was not secure.
Despite these objections, a narrow majority of the National Council voted in favor of the reform, with 102 votes to 95. The Council of States will now decide on the bill.
