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Cohabitation is not legally regulated in Switzerland and offers contractual freedom. However, it brings with it tax and legal challenges. As an alternative to marriage, it requires individual safeguards and special precautions.
The most important changes in 2025 with regard to AHV, occupational pensions, tied pillar 3a and other relevant changes for your personal financial planning.
It is well known that knowledge about one's own pension assets from the second pillar is often only superficial. However, when it comes to the options under pension law with regard to 2nd or 3rd pillar beneficiaries, at the latest, only a few people really know the facts. These benefits are an important part of financial security, especially for cohabiting couples with children. In the following article, we discuss the statutory minimum in the BVG, the additional options offered by most pension funds/employers, the differences between the BVG and pillar 3a and the aspects of inheritance law.
In the previous article, we discussed the topic of forgotten vested benefits assets, which totalled around 5.6 billion in 2022. In the following article, we explain what the vested benefits account is, when it is used and go into more detail about the vested benefits account for cross-border commuters and expats. We also explain the low interest rate of the Substitute Occupational Benefit Institution, what alternatives are available and explain the tax differences in our neighbouring countries.
The most frequently cited reason for staying in a large detached house is that a rented flat would be more expensive! Find out whether this preconception is actually true when you look at the overall situation, what advantages and disadvantages the two options have and what else you need to consider in the latest Compass, including a practical example.
In a judgement from 2022, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that widows and widowers are treated unequally in Switzerland with regard to survivors' pensions. This unequal treatment is now to be Partial revision of the old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV). The consultation period will last until 29 March 2024.
Billions of BVG assets still remain unused and are not withdrawn or are withdrawn very late. You can find out how this can happen and why you need to take care of it yourself in the latest FINBERG Compass.
Why it is worth ordering the IK statement regularly and how the pension can change by CHF 15,000. The Individual Account (IK) records the income subject to contributions, the contribution periods and the care credits on an annual basis and forms the basis for the subsequent calculation of the retirement, survivors' or disability pension. In the following article, we will show an example from practice and take a closer look at the Individual Account.
After the ECB announced at the end of October that it would not be raising interest rates any further for the time being, the Fed also announced on 1 November that it would not be raising its key interest rate this time. These decisions also have an impact on mortgage interest rates in Switzerland.
How much am I allowed to pay into my third pillar next year and what does the change in remuneration and default interest for direct federal tax mean for me?
About a year ago, the Swiss electorate was allowed to vote on the AHV reform, which was narrowly accepted at the time.
After a clear "yes" to the BVG reform on 17 March 2023 by the National Council and the Council of States, various trade unions, the SP and the Greens launched a referendum and submitted over 140,000 signatures against the reform at the end of June. Now, in spring 2024, the 2nd pillar will also be put to the vote with the BVG reform. In the following article, we show you the most important changes and explain why a reform will be inevitable sooner or later.
Demographic development is a decisive factor for the real estate market in Switzerland. Population size, age structure and immigration/exmigration influence the demand for housing and have a direct impact on property prices and their availability. But what is the outlook for the future?
