ALSA PK, unabhängige Sammelstiftung Brief regulations
Your employee pension plan at a glance The following summary provides an overview of the most important provisions of your employee pension plan. The decisive regulations, however are the current applicable regulations of the ALSA PK, unabhängige Sammesltiftung, valid as of 01/01/2014, and the pension plan for your affiliation and employee category. All male forms used in this overview also apply accordingly for women. Who is insured? The insurance is fundamentally mandatory for all employees so long as they are not disabled or if the degree of disability is less than 70%: as of the 1 January following their 17th birthday and prior to their reaching statutory pension age. In the event of an OASI annual salary of more than CHF 21,060.00 (as of 01 January 2014). With an employment relationship which is unlimited in duration or with a duration of at least 3 months. Statutory pension age is reached at the end of the 65th year of life for men and at the end of the 64th year of life for women. Insured persons who continue to work after reaching statutory pension age and who were previously insured may continue to be insured via ALSA PK. The maximum possible additional insurance is 5 years (until the age of 70 for men or 69 for women). Insured persons who leave the company, take unpaid leave, are employed on a seasonal basis or insured by the FAR Foundation may continue their pension insurance under specific circumstances. Relevant details are laid out in the pension regulations. The right to establish different regulations in the pension plan remains reserved. How is the insured salary established? The decisive factor is the agreed OASI annual salary for the current year without any occasional compensation and without variable salary components. The insured salary and any applicable contribution amount are defined in the pension plan. They form the calculation bases for the benefits as well as for establishing the contributions. If the annual salary varies from year to year, the decisive salary shall in general be that of the most recent year. How are employee pensions financed? Contribution obligation for the employer and insured employees begin with their accession to the foundation. Contribution obligation end at the latest upon reaching statutory pension age, but can also be continued beyond that point. Contribution obligation continue until the early death of the insured person, exit from the foundation (termination by the employer), early retirement or in the event of an entitlement to disability benefits. The amount of the contributions is established in the pension plan and generally defined as a percentage of the insured salary. A differentiation is made between old-age credits (pensions) and risk and administration contributions. The risk and administration contributions are used to finance: risk benefits upon death or disability; administrative costs; contributions to the pension security fund. The insured persons have the possibility of voluntarily topping-up to the full benefits according to the regulations. Shortfalls resulting from early retirement may also be offset by top-ups. This means that the same benefits can be collected following early retirement as following regular retirement. It is also possible to purchase the OASI transitional pension. How are my pension benefits calculated? Old-age credits are required from the employer and employee for every insured individual. The amount of the old-age credits is established as a percentage of the contribution salary in the pension plan.
The old-age credits which have been paid in and on which interest is paid form the retirement credit. The pension is calculated on the basis of the available retirement credit at retirement age, multiplied by the conversion rate of 6.80%. Example Retirement credit at retirement: CHF 300,000.00 Conversion rate at age 65: 6.80% Pension per year: CHF 300,000.00 * 6.80% CHF 20,400.00 Early retirement with a reduced pension is possible from age 58. The conversion rate is reduced by 0.20 percentage points by additional year before statutory retirement age. Example Retirement credit at retirement at age 60: Conversion rate at age 60 (the reduction is 5 times 0.20 percentage points, for a total of 1 percentage point): Pension per year: CHF 250,000.00 5.80% CHF 250,000.00 * 5.80% CHF 14,500.00 The pension can be deferred for up to 5 years with pension increases. The conversion rate is then increased by 0.20 percentage points per year of deferral. Example Retirement credit at retirement at age 70: Conversion rate at age 70 (the increase is 5 times 0.20 percentage points, for a total of 1 percentage point): Pension per year: CHF 375,000.00 7.80% CHF 375,000.00 * 7.80% CHF 29,250.00 Instead of a pension, a lump-sum payment may be requested in writing (for married insured individuals or those living with a registered partner, this must also be signed by the spouse or partner). This request must be submitted to the foundation at the latest before payment of the first pension benefit. For every child below the age of 18 (if disabled or still in education: until the age of 25), a retired children's benefit of 20% of the ongoing old age pension will paid in addition to the pension. An OASI transitional pension can be collected from ALSA PK for the period between the early retirement and collection of the OASI pension. The OASI transitional pension is fully financed by the insured person via deductions form the existing retirement credit. The costs of this OASI transitional pension can be paid off during the membership. Partial retirement is possible; a reduction in the degree of employment must be at least 20% and continue for a minimum of 1 year. What are the death benefits? In the event of death before retirement If an insured person dies before statutory retirement age and is married, a spouse's pension will become due. The spouse's pension becomes due at the end of the continued pay period and shall continue to be paid until the death of the beneficiary spouse. If the beneficiary re-marries before the age of 45, the spouse's pension shall expire. A partner is equivalent to a spouse if certain conditions are met (see relevant details in the pension regulations): if the partnership is registered then no further conditions apply if the partnership is not registered, it must have been notified to the foundation in writing during the lifetime of the insured person. Further conditions are: both partners must be unmarried and not related the partner does not receive any surviving dependant's benefits from other relationships and has not received any in the past a minor child was being supported prior to the death of the insured person or the deceased insured person provided significant support to the partner.
The entitled spouse and/or life partner has the opportunity to request a lump-sum payment instead of a pension. The request must be made at the latest before the first payment of benefits. In addition to the spouse's pension, for every child under the age of 18 (or under the age of 25 if said child is disabled or still in education) an orphan's pension will be paid upon the death of the insured person. The orphan's pension cannot be paid in the form of a lump-sum payment. The amount of the spouse's or orphan's pension is established in the pension plan, generally as a percentage of the insured salary. If the available retirement credit at the time of the insured person's death is higher than the capital required to finance the spouse's and orphan's pensions, the difference will be paid out as a death benefit. The retirement credit will also be paid out if no spouse's or orphan's pension is due. Beneficiaries of the death benefit are prioritised as follows (for details please see the pension regulations): the spouse, the minor children, the life partner, the adult children, the parents or siblings and finally any remaining legal heirs. The pension plan can also insure an additional death benefit. The aforementioned prioritised list of beneficiaries also applies for the additional death benefit. In the event of death after retirement If a pension beneficiary dies and is married and/or lives in a partnership recognised by the foundation, 60% of the ongoing retirement pension will be paid to the surviving spouse and/or life partner so long as the latter is alive. An orphan's pension totalling 20% of the ongoing pension will be paid to minor children. This benefit cannot be paid as a lump-sum. Important: If, at the time of death, the benefits together with other social security benefits total more than 90% of the relevant annual salary, the foundation's benefits will be reduced by the difference. What are the disability benefits? In the event of disability, regardless of whether due to illness or accident, the following benefits will be paid by the foundation: Disability pension Disability child's pension: for every child below age 18 (if disabled or still in education: up to age 25) Waiver of premium: following a waiting period of 3 months, the retirement credit will be increased once again without the employer or insured person needing to make any further contributions. The disability and disability child's pension begin following the continued pay payments or salary replacement payments, but at the earliest at the beginning of the federal disability insurance payments. Any claim to disability benefits will expire upon the death of the insured person or a return to fitness to work. Upon reaching statutory pension age, the disability pension will be replaced by the retirement pension, with the possibility of a lump-sum payment. For full benefits upon disability the degree of disability must be 70% or more. A claim for a partial disability pension may be made from a degree of disability of 40%. In the event of a degree of invalidity of less than 40%, the foundation shall not be obliged to pay and benefits. The amounts of the disability pension and the disability child's pension are established in the pension plan. Important: If the disability benefits together with other social security benefits total more than 90% of the relevant annual salary, the benefits paid by the foundation will be reduced by the difference. What will I receive if I leave the employee pension plan before retirement? The vested benefits: is generally equivalent to the accumulated old-age credit at the time of departure. It is transferred to the new pension plan into which the departing employee moves.
If this is not possible, the following possibilities apply: transfer to a vested benefits account with a vested benefits foundation or creation of a vested benefits policy with an insurance company. The vested benefits may be paid out in cash if a written request is submitted by the beneficiary (for married insured persons this must also be signed by the spouse) and if the disbursement is less than the personal annual contribution or a self-employed activity is begun or the individual permanently leaves Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein (individuals leaving the member states of the European Union or the EFTA are subject to limitations on cash payments). Am I obliged to transfer any previously earned disbursements? Yes, any previously earned vested benefits from the pension plan of the former employer as well as existing vested benefits accounts and vested benefits policies must be transferred to the foundation. What options do I have for financing residential property? An advance withdrawal from the earned disbursement may be requested to finance residential property for personal use before the age of 50, or the claim to pension benefits may be pledged for this purpose. These methods may be used to acquire or build residential property, for shares in residential property or to repay mortgage loans. In the event of a divorce or the annulment of a registered partnership, the responsible court may split the pension entitlements of one spouse and/or partner and transfer the corresponding part to the pension entitlement of the other spouse and/or partner. Are benefits adjusted according to price developments? In general the foundation board decides on adjustments for ongoing pensions each year. Surviving dependant's and disability pensions are adjusted for price developments if the legal provisions require such an adjustment. This is independent of any decision by the foundation board. Where can I find further information? Additional information can be found in the personal insurance documents provided to all insured persons upon accession and at the beginning of each year. If desired, the current regulations can be viewed or accessed via HR department and/or the Internet. You can also contact the management of your company or that of the pension fund for additional information. ALSA PK, unabhängige Sammelstiftung c/o Assurinvest AG Frohburgstrasse 20 8732 Neuhaus Tel.: 055 286 33 11 www.alsapk.ch If the insured person has passed the age of 50, the maximum amount permitted is that of the disbursement applicable at the time of 50th birthday or one half of the disbursement at the time of withdrawal or pledging. What happens to my benefits in the event of a divorce?
Addendum No. 1 Annexe - Conversion rates for the Pension Regulations of ALSA PK, unabhängige Sammelstiftung in force since 1 January 2014 The valid conversion rates in the annexe to the pension regulations are adjusted as follows. The conversion rate applicable to the mandatory old-age credit upon statutory retirement is 6.80% for both women and men. In the event of early retirement, the conversion rate shall be reduced by 0.2 percentage points per year. In the event of delayed retirement, the conversion rate shall be increased by 0.2 percentage points per year. The conversion rate applicable to additional old-age credit depends on the year of statutory retirement and is different for men and women. Women, statutory retirement age 64 Age at retirement up to and including 2016 Year of statutory retirement 2017 2018 2019 2020 and later 58 5.60% 5.40% 5.20% 5.00% 4.80% 59 5.80% 5.60% 5.40% 5.20% 5.00% 60 6.00% 5.80% 5.60% 5.40% 5.20% 61 6.20% 6.00% 5.80% 5.60% 5.40% 62 6.40% 6.20% 6.00% 5.80% 5.60% 63 6.60% 6.40% 6.20% 6.00% 5.80% 64 6.80% 6.60% 6.40% 6.20% 6.00% 65 7.00% 6.80% 6.60% 6.40% 6.20% 66 7.20% 7.00% 6.80% 6.60% 6.40% 67 7.40% 7.20% 7.00% 6.80% 6.60% 68 7.60% 7.40% 7.20% 7.00% 6.80% 69 7.80% 7.60% 7.40% 7.20% 7.00% Addendum No. 1 Pension regulations Page 1 Valid as of 1 January 2016
Men, statutory retirement age 65 Age at retirement up to and including 2016 Year of statutory retirement 2017 2018 2019 2020 and later 58 5.40% 5.20% 5.00% 4.80% 4.60% 59 5.60% 5.40% 5.20% 5.00% 4.80% 60 5.80% 5.60% 5.40% 5.20% 5.00% 61 6.00% 5.80% 5.60% 5.40% 5.20% 62 6.20% 6.00% 5.80% 5.60% 5.40% 63 6.40% 6.20% 6.00% 5.80% 5.60% 64 6.60% 6.40% 6.20% 6.00% 5.80% 65 6.80% 6.60% 6.40% 6.20% 6.00% 66 7.00% 6.80% 6.60% 6.40% 6.20% 67 7.20% 7.00% 6.80% 6.60% 6.40% 68 7.40% 7.20% 7.00% 6.80% 6.60% 69 7.60% 7.40% 7.20% 7.00% 6.80% 70 7.80% 7.60% 7.40% 7.20% 7.00% The year of statutory retirement is established as the year during which the first pension benefits are due following the end of the 64th (women) or 65th (men) year of life. This addendum shall enter into force on 1 January 2016. Eschenbach SG, 10 December 2015 The Foundation Board of ALSA PK, unabhängige Sammelstiftung Addendum No. 1 Pension regulations Page 2 Valid as of 1 January 2016