Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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According art. 27.1. of the Pension Scheme Regulations the surviving spouse of a deceased insuree is entitled to a spouse's pension provided:
a) they must provide for the support of at least one child who would be entitled to receive a pension benefit or
b) they have reached the age of 35 and the marriage lasted for at least two years (any domestic relationship preceding marriage ist credited toward the minimum term) or
c) they receive a full IV pension benefit, however, not any other pension benefits.
Should the surviving spouse not satisfy any of these conditions, they are entitled to a one-off lump-sum settlement payment amounting to five annual pension payments.
(Remark: partners with the civil status "registered partnership" are equal to spouses by law)
According art. 28.2. of the Pension Scheme Regulations the PGG may, upon written request by the insured, pay benefits equivalent to a spouse’s pension to the surviving (long-time) domestic partner of a deceased insured, provided
a) the partner cohabited with the insured for a continous period of five years prior to the insured's death, and they maintained a domestic partner relationship (any years of marriage are not counted for either partner) or
b) the partner was cohabiting with the insured as his domestic partner at the time of the insured's death and they are required to provide financial support for one or more of the couple's children who are eligible to claim an orphan's benefit under the Pension Scheme Regulations.
A domestic partner relationship is defined by a shared domicile (joint household) and the existence of a monogamous two-person relationship. In addition the domestic partner may not be below the age of 35, be married, be related to the insured or be the stepchild of the insured or may not receive a surviving spouse's or suviving partner's benefit from a 2nd pillar pension scheme or AHV.
Should an insured receiving a PGG old-age pension die leaving a spouse or long-time partner entitled to PGG pension benefits, their survivor shall according appendix of the Pension Scheme Regulations ("Pension Plan and additional main plan") receive a survivor’s pension amounting to 60% of the deceased’s previous old-age pension.
If the spouse is more than ten years younger than the insured or they married the insured after the age of 65, the surviving spouse’s benefit will be reduced. The following reductions apply:
- The amount of the spouse’s benefit will be reduced by 1% for every full or part of a year by which the spouse was more than ten years younger than the insured.
- If the marriage to the insured took place after the age of 65, the spouse’s pension will be further reduced by 20% for each full or part of a year over the age of 65.
- No spouse’s benefit will be paid if the marriage took place after the age of 69 or if, at the time of marriage, the insured was aged 65 or above and was suffering from a serious condition of which they were aware, which resulted in their death within two years of marrying.
Beginning as of 1st January 2019 at PGG exist two pension plans: a main plan (annual salaries up to CHF 97'500) and an additional main plan (annual salaries between CHF 97'500 and CHF 127'980).
For both pension plans exist also two savings plans, a savings plan "Standard" and a savings plan "Plus".
Savings Plans Plus allow greater participation in the occupational pension provision for employees (for the main plan, depending on the employee's company group, starting at age 25 or age 45). Thanks to higher employee contributions, the amount of old-age savings until retirement will grow at a faster rate than with the standard plan. This will allow you to improve your future retirement benefits (pension or lump-sum payment). The higher deductions for employee contributions will reduce your taxable income, which constitutes an additional positive benefit.
Employees can switch savings plans on 1 January of each year, provided notice of this is submitted via a separate form (available on our homepage) by 30 November of the previous year.
The employer savings contribution is the same with both plans.
Remark: active members under the contractual situation L-GAV - Lounges don't have the possibility to choose between different savings plans.
In addition to risk contributions, the employer and the employees generally pay monthly savings contributions that are credited to the employee’s individual savings capital (old-age savings). This savings capital also increases by the amount of annual interest that is credited.
On the date of their retirement, employees insured by PGG can choose between a pension or a lump-sum payment (based on the individual savings capital). They may also choose a combination of a pension and a lump-sum payment. The pension is calculated by multiplying the assets on the date of retirement by the conversion factor (currently 5.90% if the employee retires from PGG at age 65).
Example:
Individual savings capital as at the date of retirement at age 65: CHF 400'000
Conversion factor: 5.90%
Annual pension = CHF 400'000 x 5.90% = CHF 23'600
First, the employer must be informed of the employee’s wish to retire. In the event of early retirement, a formal notice of termination must be submitted.
At the same time, the PGG pension scheme must also be informed of the date of retirement using a specific form (available at the pension scheme management) - preferably two months prior.
Insured persons who would like to receive a capital withdrawal or lump-sum payment (or a combination of a pension and a capital withdrawal) must also use the aforementioned form to make this request. The deadline for doing so is at least one month before the effective retirement date.
As part of the statutory provisions on the promotion of home ownership (WEF), insured persons who do not draw a pension generally have the option of using a certain portion of their individual savings capital resp. old-age savings to finance a home that they occupy throughout the year.
If you are thinking about taking advantage of this option, the separate ‘Mortgage/WEF’ tab contains further information along with the form to be submitted to the office.
The office can also provide you with an individual offer that shows you the extent to which your expected benefits will be reduced as a result of the early withdrawal.
In addition to early withdrawal, you have the option of pledging the individual savings capital resp. old-age savings, which has the advantage of not reducing the expected benefits as the result of an early withdrawal.
Voluntary purchases provide insured persons with the option – through additional contributions made on a voluntary basis – of investing more in their own pension and thus improving their future benefits. Voluntary purchases of this kind can also be deducted from the taxable income declared on the insured person’s tax declaration, which can lead to considerable savings.
Voluntary purchases generally require the corresponding purchasing potential (or a pension gap). You can use the annual pension statement to determine how much purchasing potential, if any, you have ("maximum purchasing amount").
In addition to the basic prerequisite of available purchasing power, voluntary purchases are subject to the following additional restrictions (not exhaustive):
- Following a voluntary purchase, all of the savings capital resp. old-age savings is blocked for three years, i.e. no capital withdrawals as a result of retirement, early withdrawals as part of the promotion of home ownership or cash disbursements as a result of permanent departure from Switzerland will be permitted.
- If an early withdrawal has already been taken as part of the promotion of home ownership, the withdrawal must first be repaid to PGG.
- Persons who have moved to Switzerland and have never been affiliated with a Swiss pillar 2 pension scheme can purchase a maximum of 20% of the insured salary per year for the first five years.