13. AHV. Pension

Is it just women, or do men also get this?

If both people in a marriage worked the full number of years, they will still not get two pensions.

And the reason which was given for this was that the survivor partner would get the widow pension on top of theirs.

Taking the widow pension away AND not giving two pensions is just too much and has no reason to exist.

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By memory, this is only in case the working spouse pays twice the Minimum amount, then the married spouse is included as a year counting for them too.

I do not know, I just copied the info from the link which is the Swiss Govt AHV rules.

I copied the info from the link which has the AHV rules.

Is a woman’s contribution record credited for the years of her marriage or widowhood in which she did not pay any contributions?

When calculating a woman’s contribution record, she will be credited for the years of her marriage or widowhood prior to 31 December 1996 during which she was insured, but did not pay any contributions.

Hmm. It specifically says women - not sure if this is just an assumption that the working party is the man or whether this is one of the cases where there is a difference in treatment and men do not get a credit in the case where they stay at home and the woman is the breadwinner.

I can attest it also applies to men in a two-sex relationship.

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I’d say the text simply hasn’t been adapted yet to the newish possibility that both parts of the marriage could have the same sex.

Or that Switzerland has moved into the 21st century and the woman may be the working spouse and the man is the one who stays at home.

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The current system is a mix of many compromises, as is alway the case in functioning politics that evolved over many generations. You’re free to take the absolutist aproach demanding everything, but be prepared to lose everything.

It’s your problem, not mine.

LOL you make stupid statement and then get aggressive.

My stake is simple, if you change bits of the system then look at it overall. It’s not right to keep on changing rules on people when they are about to retire.

They will not. The moment the new law would be implemented and you have fulfilled your 55th year of age (in short you are 56) you will keep the widower’s pension as is now. If you are 51 at the moment the new law is implemented and you already receiving “ErgĂ€nzungsleistungen” you will also keep the widower’s pension as is now. It’s called Übergangsbestimmung (interim regulation).
Read this, you can switch between German, French and Italian. hth.

As to the other bit you mentioned re couples getting less pension as a couple and it should be changed when the widower’s pension is changed: I’m not sure that is logic as while it’s from the same pot it’s a different pension. I would guess, that would rather be changed if they change the taxing system of couples.

“it’s not right” isn’t raised unless some change is to your detriment. That’s pure egoism and nothing else.

My pov of view is that as a married couple, you don’t get two pensions despite both paying in. One of the justification until now has been the widower pension. I.e. we keep your contribution to pay you a higher pension if your spouse dies.

Taking one away without reviewing the other makes no sense to me.

Why would someone who paid in fully their whole career not get a full pension because they are married?

And absolutely not sure why you are mixing social security with tax - could you perhaps clarify?

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I think the reasoning is that a married couple living together needs less money since there are shared costs and the spouse gets a free pension from the breadwinner.

Of course this traditional family setup is not the only one any more due to 2 working parents and also non-married couples.

Can’t married couples simply get two full pensions by simply divorcing? If so, then it is a choice with pros and cons you can make.

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I think divorcing is indeed a possible solution - of course a bit drastic but would also solve the taxation issue. Not sure how easy it is to do in practice and whether you can simply divorce and stay together.

Married couples may feel disadvantaged in relation to AHV, not receiving two full pensions, but are certainly advantaged in relation to inheritance.

A spouse inheriting 1 MCHF would pay no inheritance tax (in ZĂŒrich) whereas a partner would pay 309’000 Fr, a FiancĂ© would pay 323’700 Fr, a friend 330’000 Fr.

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I know people do exactly that but it has massive implications for inheritance so you need to look into it very carefully.

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+1
Non-Swiss would need to have a will written to have their home country inheritance laws apply. Otherwise Swiss laws apply.

Swiss law provides specific inheritance for spouse and children. You cannot give a “third party” (ie an ex-spouse) your spouse’s share. This also applies to non-Swiss residents without a will or without the home country provision.

Legal advice is NECESSARY. I’m only a guy on the internet.

I know one family with partners who never got married because of taxes (I call them family because they are a family imo, two kids, live exactly like a family, the only thing missing is the “paper” ). It wouldn’t work for everyone of course, but it is not that uncommon anymore.