Federal erat determines the direction of the next reform

The AHV urgently needs more money – but no new sources of money should be tapped for this, the Federal Council says. But we shouldn’t work longer – at most voluntarily. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider presents the Federal Council for the next AHV reform.

AHV2030: This is the name of the billion-dollar reform of Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume Schneider. A business that she has not inherited from her predecessor, but can shape and advance in the next few years. Now the Federal Council has hit the first plants. The most important questions and answers.

How much money does the AHV need?

The starting point is clear: the AHV, the important social work in Switzerland, needs more money. It is about billions of bills. Because the baby boomers retire. The number of pensioners is increasing significantly in the next few years. Around 2.5 million people are currently receiving an AHV pension. In 2030 it will be 2.8 million, around 3 million in 2035. At the same time, the employment population hardly grows. This means that those who are still in professional life have to finance more and more pensions. The bill does not work.

How high the additional means must be is unclear. Because the AHV has different construction sites. When finding a solution, the parliament flittens how to finance the 13th AHV pension (cost: CHF 4 to 5 billion). Without the additional funds for the 13th AHV pension, the social work will be missing around CHF 2.5 billion in 2030. In 2040 it will already be CHF 5.7 billion. An impressive amount.

The middle party’s initiative to lift the pension plan for married couples (cost: CHF 3.8 billion annually) is also open. The Federal Council rejects them. But the parliamentary advice and the referendum are still pending.

Where should the money come from?

The Federal Council does not reinvent the world. He wants to increase the income from the current sources of financing: i.e. VAT and wage taxes. After all, he promises generation justice – an indication that not only employees and employers finance the reform via wage contributions. In addition, the increases are to be limited to the time in which the pressure from the baby boomers on the AHV finances is strongest.

What financing ideas did the Federal Council reject?

A lot. An open secret is that social democrat Baume cutter would have liked to tap new sources of money. In interviews, she showed herself openly to an inheritance or financial transaction tax in order to generate new income for the AHV. She dropped this plan prematurely. Baume cutter wants a majority-capable reform-and has not made gifts to the left or the right warehouse.

The Juso initiative should have played a role in inheritance tax. The young socialists want to tax inheritance from a tax -free allowance of CHF 50 million with 50 percent. The initiative triggered strong defense reflexes.

The Federal Council only rejected a financial transaction tax last October. Switzerland already knows a kind of financial transaction tax with the sales tax on securities and emission tax on new shares. The Federal Council estimates that expansion only offers a limited potential for income.

According to well-taught sources, Baume tailors had a third source of income checked: In the office consultation, the interior minister proposed the introduction of a national property profit tax. This idea was no coincidence.

The group of experts around Serge Gaillard, which on behalf of the Federal Council was looking for austerity measures in the federal budget, proposed the examination of the national property profit tax. The group of experts appreciates the potential for revenue to one billion francs. The tax would only be made for realized profits – and would not add further work, consumption or assets. But the idea was carried out in the office consultation.

What about retirement age?

The Federal Council not only dispenses with new sources of income, but also to increase the retirement age. This should remain at 65 years. The reason for this is, among other things, the significant rejection (almost 75 percent) of the initiative of the Jungfreiensigen, which had called for a higher retirement age. The lust of the bourgeois federal councils to have the increase in retirement age at least checked was very limited.

Three federal councilors submitted reports on the applications from Baume Schneider. However, this prevailed. After all, she promised the colleagues that a higher retirement age should be checked in the next reform – even if the data is better. Because that is also a goal of the new reform: collecting more data to introduce specific measures. For example, the necessary surveys are simply missing for the often discussed introduction of a working life.

What do the incentives look like for longer work?

After all: The Federal Council wants to increase the incentives that people work voluntarily longer. In the future, you should be able to deposit in the AHV in the future if you have reached the age of 70. In addition, the allowance of CHF 1400 per month – no social security contributions will be due to this income – is to be increased if someone still works after 65. So people have more money in their pockets. Early retirement should also become more unattractive.

When does the reform come into force?

The Federal Council has hit the first important plants. The path of the reform is still a long time. In autumn the corner values ​​are said to be available, the consultation template in early 2026. The reform will not come into force before 2030.