How come, anyone from the world can just build up a CH pension?
I suspect you need lo live and work there, but once you have a UK pension you can top it up.
3 Likes
You have to have been working in the Uk so paid into pillar 1, then when you stop working you can pay voluntary contributions. This applies to people leaving the country too.
1 Like
Exactly, I got my German ex-GF to sign up for voluntary NICs once we left London and moved to Switzerland.
The scheme is so generous it would make sense for anyone who is eligible to get a cheap 2nd pension by going to the UK and working the minimum required amount (2 years?) before moving back overseas to work and then gain the right to pay Class 2 NICs.
1 Like
I thought that it would be relevant if the UK is the country where you have made the longest contributions?
What is also unclear to me is which country is obliged to cover health, when (as in my case), you move to a third country (not UK, not CH, but EU)?
It could be relevant but not always.
You get a full UK pension after paying a min of 35 years, so it’s possible you would have to pay 10 extra years if you had a full Swiss one which is 44 years.
In my case I only worked in CH for 15 years, but have made 30 years UK contributions so far - I’m hoping that will support my case for exemption from having to keep Swiss health insurance when I draw my pensions.
‘‘Persons drawing pensions from several countries (but not from their country of residence) must take out health insurance in the country in which they paid contributions for the longest period.’’ (from the Federal Office of Public Health website)
That would be a no. I know a few that do this…
Do what, if I may ask?
1 Like
I have 20 years in Switzerland & 35 in the UK, however the Swiss pension can be taken 4 years before the UK one, my question is can I pas Swiss insurance for 4 years then stop? Otherwise I will wait for my UK pension to Issue a S1 before applying for a Swiss one well into my 67th year.
I was wondering this myself as it seemed potentially confusing. It didn’t make sense to me if you lived in a 3rd country that you’d take the Swiss pension and then have Swiss health insurance and then switch over to the UK once you get the UK pension.
What would make more logical sense is that you get the Swiss pension, but the UK is still responsible for healthcare even though they don’t pay pension yet.
I think procedurally, you apply for pension in your country of residence and they coordinate with the pension paying countries, so maybe anyway, there is some mediation between the countries which could either help or create more of bureaucracy.
My entitlement to free healthcare ends when I get a state pension.
Why is that? I understood that the country where you paid the longest period of contributions is responsible for your healthcare.
Malta has a reciprocal health agreement with the UK for non working & those not receiving a state pension living in Malta. This treaty was signed in 1956
https://s2.eessi.gov.mt/en/how-to-get-a-rha/
1 Like
Ah, interesting.
Due to the lack of clear guidance from the KVG, coupled with my poor knowledge of German, I contacted a lawyer in Switzerland to represent me in front of the authorities in order to obtain exemption from having to continue to take out Swiss health insurance when I relocate from Switzerland.
The lawyer stated this is a clear case and that I should not be compelled to keep insurance in CH when I relocate to another EU country.
He wrote to the KVG and they replied, stating ‘‘Pensioners with a nationality outside the EU-EFTA area are not subject to the European Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons and are therefore no longer required to have insurance in Switzerland after leaving Switzerland. According to your information, you are a citizen of Great Britain and are moving your residence to an EU country. This means that you are no longer required to have insurance in Switzerland.’’
This ignores the fact that I am not yet a pensioner, and some of the other compounding issues which made my case, at least before the lawyer got involved, not so straightforward.
However, in my opinion engaging a lawyer was definitely worthwhile, was not expensive, forced the KVG to stop issuing contradictory responses to my request, and finally resulted in them issuing the exemption that I wanted, and potentially saved me thousands of Euros in health insurance fees.
1 Like
So that’s now more confusing. Does that apply only if you move to another EU country or does it apply when you leave the EU area completely? 
I don’t know where you get the thousands in savings… the cost for me of continuing my fully private swiss insurance if retired to another EU country would drop by about 90% which would make it cheaper than having to get local insurance and I’d still retain the right to return to Switzerland for treatment if I wished.
As for getting the exemption, all that is needed is confirmation from the health authorities in the country you are retiring to that you can enter their system, which I understand is very easy to obtain in the UK.
I would not no waste money of a lawyer for something like that.
Prices are still high for many countries, even with the cheapest Swiss insurer. I will be saving c. CHF 6k every year for my wife and I by switching to a local health insurer.
Unfortunately it´s not that simple as the thread makes clear.
For me it was ensuring I obtain peace of mind by securing official confirmation of exemption rather than either ignoring the requirement, or choosing to deal with it later, and potentially having issues when I eventually claim the rest of my pillar 2, but more importantly my Swiss state pension.
Thanks for the update. So many threads on all forums end on a cliff hanger and the end result is never confirmed.
3 Likes