Fund Regulation of the Asga Pension Fund Cooperative

Transcription

1 Fund Regulation of the Asga Pension Fund Cooperative applicable from 1 January 2017 In the event of any dispute, the original text of the regulation in German shall prevail.

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3 Fund regulation of the Asga Pension Fund Cooperative A. General principles Art. 1 Fundamentals 5 Art. 2 Membership 5 Art. 3 Employee benefits committee of the member company 5 Art. 4 Regulation 5 Art. 5 LOB Guarantee Fund 5 B. Compulsory insurance Art. 6 Compulsory insurance/exceptions 5 Art. 7 Start of the insurance obligation 6 Art. 8 Affiliation and transfers 6 Art. 9 Start of insurance cover 7 Art. 10 Information for insured persons 7 Art. 11 De-registration 7 Art. 12 Retirement age 8 C. Contributions Determining annual salary/insured salary Art. 13 Duration of compulsory contributions 8 Art. 14 Amount of contributions 9 Art. 15 Contribution payments and purchased sums 9 Contribution payments Purchase of regulatory benefits Purchase of full pension benefits Art. 16 Determining annual salary/insured salary 11 Art. 17 Pension savings 12 D. Insurance benefits Art. 18 Insurance benefits at a glance 12 I. Retirement benefits Art. 19 Retirement pension and disabled person s retirement pension 13 Art. 20 Retirement lump sum 13 Art. 21 Pensioners child s pension and disabled pensioners child s pension 13 II. Survivors benefits (following illness or accident) Art. 22 Partner s pension 14 Art. 23 Entitlement of divorced partners 15 Art. 24 Lump sum payment upon death 15 Art. 25 Orphan s pension 16 3/32

4 III. Disability benefits (following illness or accident) Art. 26 Disability pension 16 Art. 27 Disabled person s child s pension 17 Art. 28 Exemption from contributions 18 IV. Joint provisions Art. 29 Basis of entitlement/early benefit/payment of benefits 18 Art. 30 Claiming back/offsetting 19 Art. 31 Subsequent benefit payments/time-barring 19 Art. 32 Index-linking 19 Art. 33 Relationship with other insurances/reduction of benefits 20 E. Early retirement Art. 34 Leaving benefit 21 Art. 35 Subsequent cover 21 F. Provisions for benefits in excess of the compulsory limit Art. 36 Scope 21 Art. 37 Insurance 21 Art. 38 Contributions and purchased sums 22 Art. 39 Reduction of the partner s pension in special cases 22 Art. 40 Lump sum payment upon death 23 Art. 41 Additional lump sum payment upon death 23 Art. 42 Relationship with other insurances 23 Art. 43 Subsequent cover 23 Art. 44 Further variations from LOB benefits pursuant to Art G. Final provisions Art. 45 Obligation to provide information and notify 25 Art. 46 Profit sharing 25 Art. 47 Non-assignability 25 Art. 48 Facilitation of home ownership 26 Art. 49 Transfer of a vested benefits payment, retirement pension or retirement disability pension in the event of divorce 26 Art. 50 Financial equilibrium/cover shortfall 27 Art. 51 Termination of the affiliation agreement/partial liquidation 27 Art. 52 Legal disputes 27 Art. 53 Gaps in the regulation/adaptation of the regulation 28 Art. 54 Transitional provisions 28 Appendix to the fund regulation Sec. 1 Amount of contributions 29 Sec. 2 Joining threshold/determining annual salary/insured salary Sec. 3 Conversion rates as percentage of pension savings 30 4/32

5 Designations/Abbreviations 31 Fund Regulation of the Asga Pension Fund Cooperative A. General provisions Art. 1 Fundamentals 1.This fund regulation is based on the Law on Occupational Benefits LOB with the accompanying ordinances, the statutes of the Asga Pension Fund Cooperative and the cost regulation. 2. The Asga Pension Fund Cooperative is entered under that name in the occupational benefits register. It is hereinafter referred to by the abbreviation Asga. Art. 2 Membership The basis for membership is the affiliation contract between Asga and the member company. The rights and obligations are described in that contract. Art. 3 Employee benefits committee of the member company Within the member company, a joint employee benefits committee may be set up to take decisions internal to the company on benefits. The details are specified in the fact sheet for the employee benefits committee. Art. 4 Regulation 1. The relationships between Asga and the affiliated member companies, insured members or entitled beneficiaries are governed by this regulation. 2. The appendix to the fund regulation is an integral part of this regulation. 3. This regulation is divided into compulsory benefits pursuant to LOB (Art. 1-35) and provisions for benefits in excess of the compulsory limit (Art ). The provisions for benefits in excess of the compulsory limit likewise apply to non-compulsory benefits. Art. 5 LOB Guarantee Fund Asga is affiliated to the LOB Guarantee Fund. This provides subsidies for an unfavourable age structure and secures the statutory benefits of schemes which have become insolvent. B. Compulsory insurance Art. 6 Compulsory insurance/exceptions 1. The member company must insure those employees whose probable AHV annual salary exceeds the affiliation threshold defined in Sec. 2 of the appendix. 5/32

6 2. The following employees are not required to have compulsory insurance: a) employees with a temporary employment contract for not more than three months. Employees with temporary appointments or missions must have compulsory insurance if aa) the uninterrupted temporary employment relationship is extended be yond the period of three months. In that case the employee is insured from the time at which the extension was agreed; ab) several successive appointments with the same employer or missions for the same hiring enterprise last for an overall total of more than three months with no interruption lasting for more than three months. In that case, the employee is insured from the start of the fourth overall month of employment; however, if it is agreed before starting work for the first time that the total period of recruitment or mission will exceed three months, the employee is insured from the beginning of the employment relationship. The three months period must still be taken into account if it extends beyond the end of a calendar year; b) employees who are working on a secondary basis and already have compulsory insurance for a main occupational activity or pursue a self-employed activity as their main gainful occupation; c) persons who are fully disabled within the meaning of IV; d) persons who continue to be insured provisionally with another occupational benefit scheme pursuant to Art. 26a LOB; e) persons who have already reached the ordinary retirement age. 3. Self-employed persons with personnel who voluntarily join the LOB scheme or are required to do so may be included in the Asga, together with the employees. Self-employed persons who meet the criteria of Sec. 2, letter c, d or e are not included. 4. Self-employed persons who are members of a recognised professional association which has agreed on an association solution with Asga may be affiliated to Asga. Self-employed persons who meet the criteria of Sec. 2, letter c, d or e are not included. 5. Employees with an AHV annual salary which falls short of the affiliation threshold pursuant to Sec. 2 of the appendix may hold non-compulsory insurance if provision to that effect is made in the affiliation contract. Art. 7 Start of the insurance obligation 1. The insurance obligation for the employee begins on 1 January after the 17 th birthday for the risks of death and disability and from 1 January after reaching the 24 th birthday for retirement benefits. 2. Voluntary or compulsory insurance of self-employed persons begins on the first day of the month which follows the submission of the written declaration concerning affiliation under the LOB, subject to Art. 9, Sec. 2 and 3. Art. 8 Affiliation and transfers 1. For every person to be insured, a completed and signed transfer notice must be submitted within 30 days of the date on which insurance becomes compulsory and upon a transfer (exceptions: see Art. 16, Sec. 2). Users of Asga online are governed by the contractual and general provisions for the use of Asga online. The obligation to register rests with the member company. If the affiliation or transfer is delayed, Asga will charge the costs of its additional expenditure on the basis of the separate cost regulation. 6/32

7 2. The insured person is required by law to transfer to Asga, within one year of joining, the leaving benefit payable by the occupational benefit scheme of the previous employer and any existing benefit capital from a vested benefits scheme. Asga reserves the right to pay benefits in excess of the compulsory limit which relate to a leaving benefit that was not transferred to Asga on time, as a lump sum only. The insured person must arrange the transfer. Asga may request payment of the vested benefits directly. 3. In the event of unpaid leave, please refer to the information memo on unpaid leave which can be obtained from Asga at Art. 9 Start of insurance cover 1. If compulsory insurance is required, the insurance cover for the employee of the member company starts from the day on which he begins or should have begun work with the member company on the basis of the recruitment. 2. For self-employed persons, insurance cover begins, subject to any limitations for health reasons pursuant to Sec. 3, when the notice of affiliation is received, but not before the indicated starting date of the insurance. 3. In the case of voluntary insurance of self-employed persons, a reservation for the risks of death and disability on health grounds may be made for not more than three years. A reservation is not permitted if the self-employed person held compulsory insurance for at least six months and takes out voluntary insurance within one year. Moreover, Art. 37 of the provisions for benefits in excess of the compulsory limit applies accordingly. Art. 10 Information for insured persons 1. Each insured person receives an occupational benefits certificate via the member company as confirmation of affiliation. The certificate gives detailed information on the nature and amount of the insured benefits, the contributions, the deposits and withdrawals, and the retirement savings at the end of the previous year. 2. Upon any change of the basic insurance conditions, but at least once a year, a new occupational benefits certificate will be issued. 3. In the event of divorce or termination by the courts of a registered partnership, information will be given on request to the insured person or to the court on the amount of the savings which is to be used for calculation of the leaving benefit that has to be divided. In particular, this concerns information on the amount of the benefits to be paid, as well as the details required in accordance with Art. 24, Para. 3 FZG and Art. 19k FZV. 4. Insured persons will be kept informed in a suitable way every year on the progress of business, the financial position and the organisation of Asga. On request, Asga will give insured persons further information on their insurance status and on the business activities of Asga. Art. 11 De-registration The member company must notify the departure of an insured person in writing within 30 days of termination of the employment relationship. 7/32

8 Art. 12 Retirement age 1. The ordinary retirement age corresponds to the ordinary AHV retirement age. 2. Early retirement is possible at the earliest after the 58 th birthday, provided that the employment relationship or self-employed activity is then terminated. The retirement benefits shall be reduced accordingly. Insured persons who continue their gainful activity beyond the ordinary retirement age may continue to acquire retirement benefits until they reach their 70 th birthday at the latest. In that case the retirement benefits shall be increased. Instead of a retirement benefit, the insured person may apply for the leaving benefit pursuant to Art. 34, Sec. 3 to be paid out if he continues his gainful activity or is registered as unemployed. When the normal retirement age is reached, there is no longer a claim for a vested benefits payment. 3. Partial retirement is possible, subject to the age limited stipulated in Sec. 2. Notification is given in accordance with Art. 8, Sec. 1 by the employer. The degree of partial retirement, together with the remaining degree of employment, must always be 100%. At most one partial retirement per year is possible and each such partial retirement must represent not less than 20%. A maximum of two partial retirements is possible in total. A subsequent increase in the degree of employment is not permitted. Upon partial retirement, the capital needed for the pension is withdrawn proportionately from the available pension savings pursuant to the LOB and from the benefits in excess of the compulsory limit. 4. At the written request of the insured person, the benefits for the previously insured salary may be continued, provided that the salary is reduced by not more than one-half after the 58 th birthday. Insurance of the previously insured salary may remain in force no later than until the ordinary retirement age stipulated in Sec. 1. For this purpose, the insured person must pay, over and above his personal contribution to the continuation of the previously insured salary, the difference between the employer s contribution and the previously insured salary. The employer makes the appropriate deduction from the salary. An employer s participation in the contribution on the voluntarily insured part is, however, possible. The apportionment must be agreed between the employer and the insured person. The benefits certificate as issued is the determining factor. Calculations requested in this regard, together with the issue of special insurance documents, will be effected against billing of the costs based on the cost regulation. Partial retirement pursuant to Sec. 3 is not possible if insurance is continued with the previous insured salary. C. Contributions Determining annual salary/insured salary Art. 13 Duration of compulsory contributions 1. The obligation to pay contributions runs from the start of compulsory insurance until the day on which the insured person dies, retires or leaves prematurely. 2. The compulsory contribution likewise exists for the duration of the payment of a maternity allowance. 8/32

9 3. The compulsory contribution ends as soon as no further AHV annual salary/ahv annual income is being paid or if longer - the obligation to continue salary payments under the Swiss Code of Obligations has been exhausted. This shall likewise apply to persons who are incapacitated or unable to work, but continue to be listed as employees of the company on the basis of contracts of employment or a collective employment agreement (CEA). 4. The compulsory contribution requirement does not apply to insurance benefits for accident, illness or disability. 5. A possible exemption from contribution payments in case of disability pursuant to Art. 28 is reserved. Art. 14 Amount of contributions The annual contributions consist of: 1. the retirement credits based on the age of the insured person pursuant to the table shown in Sec. 1 of the appendix; 2. the individually calculated premiums to cover the risks of death and disability; 3. possible supplements to the risk contributions based on the increased risk caused by health problems; 4. the costs of the guarantee fund and for index-linking of the current survivors and disability pensions, and 5. the management costs as shown in the cost regulation. Art. 15 Contribution payments and purchased sums Contribution payments 1. The member company shall pay at least one-half of the insured employees' total contributions. The employee s contribution is deducted from the salary of the insured employees. The member company must pay the full contributions; they are to be transferred retroactively in quarterly instalments based on the quarterly invoices. The contribution invoice for the fourth quarter is simultaneously the final account statement. A year-end account is only issued if changes still have to be processed after the fourth quarter account. Interest on arrears will be charged on contributions that are not settled on time, together with management costs in respect of further extraordinary expenditure pursuant to the cost regulation. 2. With regard to insured self-employed persons' total contributions, the part of the contributions that the employee also makes for other personnel is considered the employer's contribution. 3. The employer may make additional contributions voluntarily and set up contribution reserves to finance or improve the planned benefits. Contribution reserves which have been set up and freely disposable resources may not be repaid to the employer. Purchase of regulatory benefits 4. An insured person, or in his place the member company, may make additional purchases upon affiliation or during the period of insurance until retirement, over and above the joining payment. The insured person must submit a questionnaire on the calculation of the maximum possible purchase to enable the maximum possible purchase sum to be calculated. 9/32

10 5. The maximum permitted purchase sum is equivalent to the maximum pension savings with interest calculated on the present insured annual salary, less the effectively existing pension savings (including all the vested benefit credit balances from previous occupational benefit schemes). Particular statutory limitations, and those set out in tax law, of purchase opportunities are reserved. Tax attestations will only be issued if purchases have been made from private resources of the insured person. 6. Where purchases have been made, the resulting benefits cannot be withdrawn from the benefit scheme as a lump sum within the next three years. Further limitations on purchasing or capital drawing opportunities must be clarified by the insured person with the appropriate tax authority. Asga declines all responsibility for tax treatment. 7. Insured persons who have transferred a part of the leaving benefit upon divorce or termination of a registered partnership by the courts, to the occupational benefits scheme of the partner may themselves purchase the original benefits once again. Repurchase for a disabled insured person following transfer of a sum in accordance with Art. 124, Para. 1 ZGB is not possible. 8. Insured persons who move to Switzerland from abroad and have not previously been affiliated to a benefit scheme in Switzerland may make a purchase of not more than 20% of the regulatory insured salary per year in the first five years after affiliation to Asga. Upon the expiry of the five year period, insured persons who have not yet purchased the full regulatory benefits may make further purchases pursuant to Sec The purchases are made solely to increase the supplementary pension savings. In contrast, repurchases in the sense of Sec. 7 following a divorce or legal termination of the registered partnership are allocated in the same proportion as the current debiting of the LOB pension savings and other pension savings. 10. A purchase is only possible when any early withdrawals for the facilitation of home ownership have been repaid in full. Hpwever, if repayment of the early withdrawal is no longer permitted, purchases can be made provided that there is still a necessity to make a purchase in excess of the early withdrawal. 11. In the event of disability, a purchase for passive insurance is no longer permitted. Purchase of full pension benefits 12. If an insured person has made the full purchases pursuant to Sec. 5, he may pre-finance the pension reduction caused by early retirement. On request Asga will determine the financing requirement. If, despite the pre-financing, the insured person works beyond the retirement age used to determine the calculation, the pension increased in this way shall not exceed 5% of the ordinary pension. Where appropriate, the future pension contributions will be either reduced or suspended, or the benefits will be reduced. The insured person must submit the questionnaire on the calculation of the maximum possible purchase to enable the maximum possible purchase sum to be calculated. 13. The provisions of Art. 15, Sec. 4 to 11 also apply in the case of purchase for full pension benefits. 10/32

11 Art. 16 Determining annual salary/insured salary 1. The determining annual salary corresponds to the anticipated AHV annual salary or, in the case of self-employed persons, the declared AHV annual income. A potential bonus or performance premium (the performance element of the salary as distinct from a basic salary) must be included in the determining annual salary up to the upper LOB limit (three times the maximum AHV retirement pension). Save where otherwise agreed in the affiliation contract, any bonus or performance premium in excess of the upper LOB limit is not insured. 2. The determining annual salary is calculated upon affiliation or adjustment, with effect from 1 January in advance. This salary must not exceed ten times the upper LOB limit value (see Sec. 2 of the appendix). Salary changes in the course of the year will be taken into consideration from the date of notification as of the first day of the following month. Salary notifications by the member company must be given in writing within 30 days pursuant to Art. 8, Sec. 1. If the member company or self-employed person fails to make the written salary notification as of 1 January, the previously notified AHV salary or previously notified AHV annual income shall remain valid. In the case of occupations for which the degree of employment or level of income vary widely, the previous year s salary or an average of the last three years may be notified to calculate the maximum determining annual salary. In the case of seasonal workers and persons who are employed on an hourly paid rate, the probable AHV annual salary must be notified in writing no later than by 30 November of the current year. If late notification is made, Asga will invoice the additional costs incurred by it on the basis of the separate cost regulation. Self-employed persons who have registered with the equalization fund immediately after ending their gainful employment activity may take out insurance for the first three insurance years with a different AHV annual salary as defined in Sec. 1. The average AHV annual salary earned in the last three years before the start of self-employment shall then be the determining annual salary, provided that this income would realistically be attainable as a self-employed person. Evidence of the AHV annual salary earned must be provided by producing an extract from the individual account with the equalization scheme. Alternatively, the selfemployed person's determining annual salary for the first three insured years can be determined as a flat rate based on the average salary of the vocational group concerned. Evidence of the average salary customary within the industry must be provided by the self-employed person. 3. If an insured person does not belong to Asga for a full calendar year, the determining salary will be extrapolated to one year. If the AHV annual salary or the AHV annual income falls temporarily because of illness, accident, maternity, unemployment or for similar reasons, the previous determining annual salary shall remain valid at least for as long as the compulsory requirement to continue the salary payment would exist pursuant to the Swiss law of obligations or for the duration of maternity leave. 4. The basis for determining the contributions and benefits is the insured salary. The rates stipulated by the Swiss Federal Council pursuant to Sec. 2 of the appendix apply to the calculation. 11/32

12 5. If the notified AHV annual salary or AHV annual income is lower than the effectiveahv annual salary or AHV annual income, in the event of a benefit claim adjustments will only be made (Art ) in respect of the minimum LOB benefits. Benefits in excess of the compulsory limit will not be adjusted. 6. See Art. 12, Sec. 4 for continuing insurance of the previously insured salary after the 58 th birthday. Art. 17 Pension savings 1. Pension savings consist of: a) the annual pension credit; b) the contributed leaving benefits and vested benefit credit balances, together with the purchased sums, less any early drawings; c) the credited interest. The interest rates for the compulsory part of the pension avings and the part exceeding the compulsory element will be determined annually by the Board of Directors. 2. Each insured person will receive a pension credit at the end of each calendar year after reaching the 24 th birthday. In the event of full disability, the pension account will be continued for the duration of the disability as a passive insurance until retirement age. In case of partial disability, the pension savings will be divided according to the disability pension entitlement into a passive and an active part. For the passive insurance, the insured AHV annual salary or AHV annual income remains constant. For the active insurance, the insured AHV annual salary or AHV annual income in accordance with Art. 16 is determined. D. Insurance benefits Art. 18 Insurance benefits at a glance Asga provides benefits which are at least equivalent to the LOB provisions a) on reaching retirement age - lifelong retirement pension or lump sum payment (Art. 19 and 20) - child s pension (Art. 21) b) in the event of death - partner s pension (Art. 22 and 23) - lump sum payment upon death (Art. 24) - orphan s pension (Art. 25) c) for partial or full disability - disability pension (Art. 26) - disabled person s child s pension (Art. 27) - Exemption from contributions (Art. 28) d) In the event of premature termination of service - leaving benefit (Art. 34) 12/32

13 I. Retirement benefits Art. 19 Retirement pension and disabled person s retirement pension 1. Upon retirement, the pension savings existing at that time will be converted into a lifelong retirement pension. The LOB pension savings will be converted at the very least at the rate specified by the Federal Council (Sec. 3 of the appendix). The conversion rate for the retirement pension in excess of the compulsory limit will be determined by the Board of Directors (Sec. 3 of the appendix). 2. When a person who is drawing an LOB disability pension reaches ordinary retirement age, the LOB disability pension payable at the time of retirement is converted into a retirement pension. In this case, the LOB retirement disability pension is equivalent to the LOB disability pension payable prior to retirement. The supplementary retirement pension is calculated based on the conversion rate determined by the Board of Directors of Asga (Sec. 3 of the appendix). If the ordinary retirement age is increased on the grounds of changes to the law, the current retirement age of the disability pensions ongoing at this point shall remain in place. 3. In the event of early or deferred retirement, the conversion rates stated in Sec. 3 of the appendix shall apply to the calculation of retirement pensions. Upon deferred retirement, the employer determines with the insured person or self-employed person how the contribution for the retirement benefits is to be apportioned. Contribution-free continuation of the insurance is not possible. From the time of ordinary retirement, all benefits lapse with the exception of the retirement pension and the partner s pension or child s pensions which are dependent upon the retirement pension. 4. The retirement pension begins on the 1 st day of the month following retirement. Art. 20 Retirement lump sum 1. The insured person may request a lump sum payment in lieu of all or part of the retirement pension or retirement disability pension, but the provisions of Art. 15, Sec. 6 must be respected. In the event of partial drawing, the capital shall be taken proportionately from the available pension savings in accordance with LOB and those from the supplementary benefits. Limitations placed on the possibility of lump sum withdrawals must be clarified by the insured person with the appropriate tax authority. Asga declines all liability in respect of the treatment for tax purposes. 2. In the case of persons who are either married or in a registered partnership, the lump sum withdrawal is possible only if the partner gives his or her consent in writing. The signatures must be officially certified. Unmarried persons must arrange for their civil status to be officially confirmed. Art. 21 Pensioner s child s pension and disabled pensioner s child s pension 1. Persons who are drawing a retirement pension are entitled to a child s pension for each child who could have claimed an orphan s pension upon their death. 2. The child s pension is payable from the same time as the retirement pension. It lapses if the retirement pension is no longer payable, but at the latest when the entitlement to an orphan s pension would cease. 13/32

14 3. The amount of the annual child s pension represents 20% of the retirement pension which is paid out. 4. The amount of the annual disabled pensioner s child s pension amounts to 20% of the disability pension which is paid out. II. Survivors benefits (following illness or accident) Art. 22 Partner s pension 1. In the event of the death of an insured person, married persons or persons living in a registered partnership are entitled to a partner s pension. 2. An entitlement likewise exists in the event of a living-in partnership relationship, provided that at the time of death both such partners had lived in a shared household at the same officially certified place of residence for not less than five years. A weekly stay recognised for tax purposes is equivalent to an official residence. The duration for which the household has been shared must be proven by the claimant by way of official documents. An entitlement likewise exists if the surviving partner is responsible for the maintenance of one or more joint dependent children. The following conditions apply In both cases: both cohabiting partners must be unmarried and they may not be close relatives (in the case of whom marriage is prohibited by Art. 95 ZGB Civil Code); moreover, the insured person must have notified the partner in writing to Asga. 3. Beneficiaries in accordance with Sec. 2 must be reported to Asga in the lifetime of the insured person. 4. If the cohabiting partner already draws a widow or widower's pension on the grounds of a previous claim, instead of the partner's pension there is a claim for capital compensation in the sum of three annual partner's pensions. Any cash value for pension benefits paid to the divorced partner in accordance with Art. 23 shall be deducted. Any other benefits claims against Asga shall expire on payment of the capital compensation. 5. The partner s pension amounts to 60% of the insured or recurring LOB disability pension. If the existing pension savings are greater than the cash value needed to finance the insured partner s pension, the difference will be paid out additionally as a single lump sum payment upon death. The calculation of the cash value is determined by the actuarial principles of Asga at the time of death. Any cash value of pension benefits for the divorced partner pursuant to Art. 23 will be deducted from the single lump sum payment. 6. When a retirement pensioner dies, the partner s pension amounts to 60% of the recurring retirement pension. This is subject to a reduction in accordance with Art The entitlement to the partner s pension begins on the first day following the death of the insured person, but not before the expiry of the subsequent salary payment, and in the case of pensioners on the first day of the following month. The claim to the partner's pension ends when the pensioner dies or enters into a marriage/registered partnership. 8. If the insured person dies before retirement, the partner s pension may be replaced by a single lump sum payment equivalent to the existing pension savings, subject to a minimum settlement equivalent to three years partner s pension payments. Any cash value of pension payments to the divorced partner pursuant to Art. 23 will be deducted. Upon the payment of the lump sum, all further benefit entitlement from Asga lapses. 14/32

15 9. Where an insured person whose insurance was continued beyond the ordinary retirement age pursuant to Art. 12 Sec. 2 dies and was not yet drawing a pension because of that continuation, the partner is entitled pursuant to Sec. 1 and 2 to 60% of the insured retirement pension at the time of death. This is subject to a reduction in accordance with Art. 39. Art. 23 Entitlement of the divorced partner 1. Following the death of his or her previous partner, the divorced partner is treated in the same way as a widow or a widower if the previous partner was required by the divorce judgement to pay a pension in accordance with Art. 124e, Para. 1 ZGB and the marriage had lasted for at least ten years. However, the benefit shall not exceed the entitlement under the divorce judgement, less any benefits paid by other insurance providers, namely AHV/IV. 2. The claim arises on the death of the previous partners, but at the earliest on expiry of any subsequent payment of salary. It shall arise as long as the pension would have been payable in accordance with Art. 124e, Para. 1 ZGB or Art. 126, Para. 1 ZGB, but shall expire at the latest at the end of the month in which the divorced partner dies, remarries or enters into a registered partnership. 3. The termination of a registered partnership by the courts is treated in the same way as a divorce. 4. The entitlement must be justified by a legally enforceable divorce. Voluntary payments or voluntarily higher payments made will not be taken into account. A lump sum payment pursuant to Art. 22, Sec. 8 is not possible. There is no entitlement to a lump sum payment upon death pursuant to Art. 24. Art. 24 Lump sum payment upon death 1. The lump sum payment upon death falls due if the insured person dies before retirement and Asga is not required to make any benefit payments pursuant to Art. 22. This does not include capital compensation in accordance with Art. 22, Sec. 4 in the event of the death of the insured person. 2. The lump sum payment upon death corresponds to the pension savings existing at the time of death less any cash values for pension payments to the divorced partner pursuant to Art The following survivors are entitled to a lump sum payment upon death: Group a: children of the deceased who are entitled to an orphan s pension Group b: the person with maintenance responsibility for one or more joint children Group c: the other children Group d: the parents Group e: the siblings The persons referred to in letter b are only entitled if they were notified in writing to Asga by the insured person. That notification must have been received by Asga in the lifetime of the insured person. If there are no entitled beneficiaries in Groups a to e, an entitlement to one-half of the lump sum payment upon death is shared equally between the other statutory heirs, with the exception of the public authorities. 15/32

16 4. Where survivors in one group are entitled to benefit, the persons in the following group have no entitlement to the lump sum payment upon death. Where there is more than one survivor in the same group, the lump sum payment upon death is shared equally between the entitled beneficiaries within the group. Sec. 5 is reserved. 5. To take better account of the benefit purpose in the light of individual circumstances an insured person may determine the proportionate distribution between the entitled beneficiaries within the Groups a to e individually. They may also alter the sequence of Groups c to e. This presupposes that Asga is in possession of a corresponding written declaration made before death. The special provision may be revoked at any time in writing or by testamentary dispositions by the insured person. There is no entitlement under the law on inheritance. The benefits also accrue to the entitled beneficiary if they decline the inheritance. 6. The enforcement of benefits and evidence of entitlement to them rests with the entitled person. If no evidence is produced, Asga is entitled, six months after the death of the insured person, to make the payment to the beneficiaries known to it. Art. 25 Orphan s pension 1. In the event of the death of an insured person or a person drawing a retirement or disability pension, an orphan s pension will be paid out for each child. If the mother and father are deceased, each orphan shall have a claim for two equal orphan's pensions. Foster-children are entitled only if the deceased person was responsible for their maintenance. 2. The entitlement to an orphan s pension begins on the first day following the death of the insured person, but not before the expiry of the subsequent salary payment and, in the case of pensioners, on the first day of the following month. It expires upon the death or the 18 th birthday of the orphan. 3. However, the entitlement continues until the child s 25 th birthday: a) during education; b) until achieving gainful employment capacity if the child is at least 70% disabled. 4. The annual orphan s pension is equivalent to 20% of the insured or recurring LOB disability or recurring retirement or retirement disability pension payments. III. Disability benefits (following illness or accident) Art. 26 Disability pension 1. Insured persons are entitled to a disability pension if a disability exists, provided that, at the beginning of the determining incapacity from work whose cause led to the disability, they were insured with Asga and had not yet reached the ordinary retirement age. Where other circumstances create an obligation to provide benefits under LOB, that obligation shall be confined to the minimum LOB benefits. 2. Disability exists to the extent that an insured person is disabled within the meaning of IV. 16/32

17 3. If an insured person is partially disabled, the benefits granted in the case of full disability are paid in an amount which is proportionate to the degree of disability. The basis for calculation consists of the benefits that were insured at the time of the determining incapacity from work whose cause led to the disability. A degree of disability of less than 25% gives no entitlement to an insurance benefit. If the degree of disability amounts or 60% or more, there is an entitlement to a threequarters pension. A degree of disability of 70% or more gives entitlement to the full benefit. Art. 36 is reserved. 4. The entitlement begins after the contractually agreed waiting period, but at the earliest on the date on which IV grants a pension. This expires when the disability ends (subject to Art 26a LOB) or upon the death of the insured person. On reaching ordinary retirement age, the LOB disability pension is replaced by a retirement disability pension pursuant to Art. 19, Sec. 2. If a supplementary disability pension is also included in the insurance, this shall expire when the ordinary retirement age is reached. If the ordinary retirement age is increased on the grounds of changes to the law, the current retirement age of the disability pensions ongoing at this point shall remain in place. Disability pensions which are to be taken over by Asga from a previous insurer shall continue to be determined by the provisions set out in the regulations of the previous insurer at the time when they were generated. 5. If daily allowances continue to be paid out by a daily illness allowance and/or accident insurance after the expiry of the agreed waiting period, the entitlement will be deferred until the end of the daily allowance payments. 6. The amount of the annual LOB disability pension is calculated using the same conversion rate as is applied to the LOB retirement pension. The retirement pension used as the basis consists of the LOB pension savings which an insured person has acquired when the entitlement to the LOB disability pension begins, together with interest and the sum of the LOB pension credits for the years missing until retirement age without interest. The pension credits are calculated on the basis of the salary which was insured when the incapacity from work first occurred. 7. If the LOB pension savings of an insured person have been reduced because of the facilitation of home ownership, although incapacity from work or disability existed and had not been notified to Asga, the IV pension shall be reduced by the lump sum loss multiplied by the conversion rate pursuant to Sec. 3 of the appendix to the Fund Regulation. Art. 27 Disabled persons child s pension 1. Persons who are in receipt of a disability pension are entitled to a disabled person s child s pension for each child who was entitled to an orphan s pension upon their death. 2. The disabled person s child s pension is payable from the same point in time as the disability pension and is paid out to the entitled person. It expires when the disability pension lapses, but at the latest at the time when an entitlement to an orphan s pension would have ceased. 3. The disabled person s child s pension is equivalent to 20% of the insured or recurring LOB disability pension. 17/32

18 Art. 28 Exemption from contributions 1. In case of disability, the exemption from the employer s and employee s contributions is granted after the contractually agreed waiting period, provided that the insured person had not yet reached the ordinary retirement age at that time. The provisions of Art. 26 Sec. 3 apply to the exemption from contributions. More than one period of incapacity from work in the same year attributable to the same cause are aggregated. If the cause is different, the waiting period starts again. 2. After the expiry of the agreed period for which daily allowances may be drawn from the insurer concerned, no further contribution credits are granted if the daily allowances from the healthcare or accident insurer cease and the IV had not yet issued any ruling. 3. Until disability within the meaning of Art. 26 Sec. 2 has been established, the contribution credit is purely provisional and will be granted on the basis of the daily allowance statements of a healthcare or accident insurer or on the basis of medical certificates. If it subsequently transpires that the degree of disability determined by the IV differs from the degree of incapacity from work taken into account to credit the contributions, the exemption from contributions will be corrected with retroactive effect. 4. No further exemption from contributions will be granted if Asga calls the attention of the employer or the insured person to the need to register with the disability insurance scheme and that is not done within a time limit of six months. Asga must be informed by sending a copy of the registration. 5. There is no entitlement to exemption from contributions for the period during which maternity benefits are drawn. 6. If the ordinary retirement age is increased on the grounds of changes to the law, the current retirement age for exemption from contributions ongoing at this point shall remain in place. IV. Joint provisions Art. 29 Basis of entitlement/early benefit/payment of benefits 1. Benefits will not be paid out until the entitled persons have submitted all the documents needed to justify the claim or for an early benefit pursuant to Sec. 5. The legally enforceable ruling of the Federal disability insurance scheme must have been issued before disability benefits can be paid. Pensions are transferred at the beginning of each month in advance, generally during the first ten days of the month. Child s pensions are transferred to an account, together with the main pension. Lump sum payments upon retirement, in the event of death and disability, are transferred in each case on the first bank working day after they fall due and in the middle of each month. Pensions in accordance with Art. 124e ZGB are transferred, plus interest in accordance with Art. 19j FZV, annually,by 15 December, to the pension or vested benefits scheme of the entitled spouses in the case of a divorce. 2. If Asga is liable for interest on arrears, this shall be paid at the minimum LOB interest rate. 3. Benefits which are due will be paid to the entitled persons by Asga. They will be paid out exclusively to a bank/postal account in Switzerland or in an EU/EFTA 18/32

19 country. For payments made abroad outside the EU or EFTA, charges will be made as stipulated in the cost regulation. 4. Instead of the pension, Asga pays out a single lump sum (cash value) if the - retirement or disability pension is less than 10%; - the partner s pension is less than 6% and - the child s or orphan s pension is less than 2% of the simple minimum AHV retirement pension. This settles all regulatory entitlements. However, in the event of partial invalidity the right to a review of the claim exists if at a later stage the degree of IV is increased because of the original cause of the IV. The factual connection and the link in time must be unambiguously proven. 5. If Asga has a statutory obligation to pay an early benefit, this shall be limited to the minimum LOB benefits. The entitled person must prove that he has been registered with all the appropriate insurance providers. If the case is taken over by a different insurance provider, it must refund the early benefits. Asga retains the right to claim repayment or offset overpaid benefits on the basis of Art. 30, Sec. 1 and If a different service provider has taken over a statutory early benefit and it is then established that Asga must provide the benefit, it will refund the minimum LOB benefit owed, subject to the maximum amount of the early benefit, to the provider of the early benefit. 7. If the possibility exists under this regulation of drawing a lump sum payment instead of a pension, the choice of the capital settlement must be made before the benefit falls due. Once the benefit has fallen due, the decision for a pension or a lump sum payment is irrevocable and can no longer be rescinded. Art. 30 Claiming back/offsetting 1. Asga will require benefits which have been wrongly drawn or paid out to be refunded with interest. This will be charged at the minimum LOB rate. 2. The entitlement to benefits may only be offset against claims of the member company which assigned them if they refer to contributions which were not deducted from the insured person s salary. Other claims of Asga will be offset against the benefit claim which falls due. 3. In relation to a third party who is liable for the insurance claim, Asga takes over the claims of the insured or entitled person at the time of the event in an amount equivalent to the statutory benefits. Asga may likewise require the insured or entitled person to assign his claims against liable third parties to it in an amount equivalent to its obligation to pay benefits. If the required assignment is not made, Asga is entitled to suspend its benefits. Art. 31 Subsequent benefit payments/time-barring The provisions of LOB apply to subsequent payment and time-barring of benefits. Art. 32 Index-linking 1. LOB survivors and disability pensions which have been paid for more than three years will be adjusted until retirement age to the price index, following the instructions of the Federal Council. 2. The Board of Directors shall likewise decide each year on a potential inflationlinked adjustment of current pension payments within the limits of its financial possibilities. 19/32

20 Art. 33 Relationship with other insurances/reduction of benefits 1. In the event of a claim, the benefits must not lead to an enrichment of the person who is entitled to them. 2. If the retirement, survivors and disability benefits, together with benefits of the same type and for the same intended purpose, represent an income in excess of 90% of the presumed loss ofahv annual salary (or the presumed loss of a selfemployed person's AHV annual income), the benefits of Asga will be reduced by the amount in excess of that sum. Pension benefits will only be reduced if they replace a disability benefit. 3. Imputable benefits of the same type and purpose include those paid by other domestic and foreign social insurers, other occupational benefit and vested benefit schemes, together with those of an insurance into which the employer or an occupational benefit scheme acting on his behalf has paid premiums. Substitute benefits on early retirement, together with the benefits of a liable third party, will likewise be imputed. Moreover, to calculate excess benefits, any effectively earned and/or presumably achievable income from gainful activity and any benefits paid by unemployment insurance will also be imputed. Compensation for total disability, severance payments and similar benefits will not be counted as imputable income. Where the entitled person draws additional income during further insurance pursuant to Art. 26a LOB, the disability pension paid out will be reduced in the event of over-compensation. Over-compensation exists if the substitute benefits, together with the additional income, exceed the substitute income drawn before the commencement of reintegration. The imputable benefits of the widow, the widower or the surviving partner and orphans are aggregated. On reaching LOB pensionable age, pension benefits paid by domestic and foreign social insurance and occupational benefit schemes are treated as imputable income. 4. Any imputable lump sum benefits will be converted into equivalent pensions based on the actuarial principles of Asga. 5. If the retirement disability pension is divided in the event of divorce, the portion of the pension awarded to the entitled spouses will continue to be imputed when calculating the reduction. 6. The benefits to be imputed pursuant to Sec. 2 of this article will be reviewed at regular intervals. 7. Asga will reduce its benefit payments if the insured person was himself responsible for the death or disability within three years of affiliation pursuant to Art. 8, Sec. 1 or after an extension of the insured benefits or if the insured person opposes reintegration measures. The benefits will likewise be reduced if an entitled person has demonstrably caused the death or disability of the insured person. The statutory minimum LOB benefits may only be withheld or reduced if the AHV/IV reduces, withdraws or declines a benefit. The survivors and disability benefits will be suspended for the duration of a deprivation of liberty ordered by the judge in a criminal court. 20/32