OASI reform 21: key changes

1. Retirement age 65 also for women
   A reference retirement age of 65 now applies to all working people in Switzerland, regardless of gender. This means that the retirement age for women will be gradually raised from 64 to 65. This increase will be spread over several years: Women born in 1961 will retire three months later from 2025, women born in 1962 will retire six months later from 2026 and those born in 1963 will retire nine months later in 2027. From 2028 – and from 1964 onwards – the retirement age of 65 will apply to everyone.
   
   How are the women compensated? 
   All women born between 1961 and 1964 – known as the transitional generation – will be financially compensated and will receive an additional monthly payment. The amount will depend on various factors, such as income and the contributions made to date. 
   
   That's why it's worth getting individual advice. 
2. More flexible retirement age for all
   Making the retirement age more flexible is at least as important as the higher retirement age for women. This affects all people who are currently employed in Switzerland. There is no longer a fixed retirement age, only the reference age of 65. At the same time, it will be possible to begin drawing an OASI pension from the age of 63 to 70 – although drawing a pension before the age of 65 will lead to pension reductions.
   
   It pays to keep working
   It is also more worthwhile than before to continue working after the age of 65: previously, OASI contributions had to be paid, but these were no longer taken into account for the OASI pension. That's different now: employed persons over 65 can use their OASI contributions to compensate for gaps in contributions, among other things. This is interesting for people who first immigrated to Switzerland as adults. People on low incomes can also benefit. They have two options: either they pay OASI contributions on their entire OASI salary or they only pay contributions on any amount earned above an OASI-free allowance of CHF 1,400 per month.
   
   Advice is also recommended here, as the regulations are quite complicated.
3. More flexibility for pension funds
   Many pension funds have offered flexible retirement options in the past. These are now obligatory: they must now all allow for retirement between the ages of 63 and 70. They can voluntarily offer retirement benefits from the age of 58 – keyword early retirement. Retirement benefits must be drawn from the occupational benefit scheme by the age of 70 at the latest. In addition, all pension funds must offer their insured members partial retirement. Anyone wishing to withdraw their retirement assets as a lump sum can now do so in a maximum of three stages. Important: You may only withdraw funds in advance if you stop working or reduce your workload at the same time. And a deferral is only possible for people who continue to work beyond the reference age of 65. 
4. Adjustment of vested benefits
   Many people are not yet aware of another important change for occupational retirement provision: anyone who has vested benefits from previous employment has been able to defer drawing them for up to five years after the normal retirement age – regardless of employment. From January 1, 2030, deferred payment will only be possible with proof of continued employment beyond the reference age.
   
   Individual advice on occupational retirement provision makes a lot of sense, because if you want to get the most out of it, you also need to consider tax issues, for example.

To cover the additional costs of the reform, VAT will be increased by 0.4% from the standard rate of 7.7% to 8.1%. This affects everyone in Switzerland, as VAT is levied on services, alcohol, tobacco products, cars, watches and jewelry. A reduced VAT rate applies to food, medicines, books and newspapers. This will rise from 2.5% to 2.6% from January 1, 2024.