AHV 2030 reform: early retirement gets more expensive – and the self-employed pay more

Early retirement only from 63 – the biggest cut

The minimum age for drawing early retirement benefits from occupational pension schemes is to be raised in stages from today’s 58 to 63. Exceptions are planned for corporate restructurings and for industries with collective labour agreements, although even then a minimum age of 60 would apply. In practical terms: anyone in their mid-fifties today who is eyeing an exit before 63 should follow developments closely. Early retirements need to be financed in any case – in future, the window for doing so is likely to narrow and planning to become more demanding. Private pension vehicles such as pillar 3a, securities-based saving or staggered pension fund buy-ins, which bridge the period between stopping work and the start of the pension, will become all the more important.

Self-employed: AHV rate rises to 8.7 percent

A second key point directly concerns the self-employed: their AHV contribution rate on higher incomes is to be raised from 8.1 to 8.7 percent, aligning it with the rate for employees (employee plus employer contribution). The declining contribution scale for lower incomes is also under review. For a self-employed person with earned income of, say, 120,000 francs, the new rate would mean additional contributions of around 700 francs per year – money that needs to be factored into liquidity and tax planning. In addition, sickness and accident daily allowances are to become subject to AHV contributions, as is already the case for unemployment insurance daily allowances. The Federal Council is thereby closing contribution gaps that can arise today during prolonged illness.

Working beyond 65 is to become more worthwhile

The reform aims to make working beyond the reference age more attractive: pension deferrals are to become more flexible, and the age limit up to which a deferral increases the pension is to be raised beyond today’s 70. Overall, the Federal Council expects the measures to bring the AHV around 600 million francs a year by 2040. For employers, it pays to set the course early: retaining experienced staff for longer is becoming increasingly attractive in business terms given the shortage of skilled workers – flexible workloads and adapted pension solutions are key instruments for this.

What the reform means for SMEs as employers

Employers are challenged as well. Those who have used early retirement as a personnel planning tool – in succession arrangements or restructurings, for instance – will have to reckon with tighter guard rails in future; the planned exceptions apply only under certain conditions. At the same time, the promotion of employment beyond retirement age opens up new possibilities: keeping retired specialists on in part-time roles will become simpler administratively and under pension law. Review your pension fund regulations: many plans today provide for flexible retirement ages from 58 – these provisions will need to be amended if the reform is implemented. Also relevant for personnel budgeting is the planned contribution liability on sickness and accident daily allowances, which changes the calculation of non-wage labour costs during longer absences. An early look at regulations and personnel planning saves expensive last-minute adjustments later.

What you can do now

This is still a preliminary draft; implementation is years away, and parliament will amend the proposal. Nevertheless: anyone planning early retirement should draw up a clear picture now – with scenarios for different exit ages, income and tax consequences. The self-employed are best advised to review their pension structure as a whole: AHV, any pension fund affiliations, pillar 3a and the new option of retroactive 3a buy-ins. We analyse your situation, run your scenarios and show you which room for manoeuvre you can already use today.