For the 13th AHV pension Federal Council wants to increase VAT

VAT is to be increased by 0.7 percentage points to finance the 13th AHV pension. The Federal Council was informed of this on Friday by the responsible Federal Department of Home Affairs. The 13th pension will be introduced in 2026.

VAT is to rise by 0.7 percentage points to finance the 13th AHV pension. The Federal Council was informed of this on Friday by the responsible Federal Department of Home Affairs. The 13th AHV pension will be introduced in 2026.

The 0.7 percentage points were calculated by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) and the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) on the basis of the validated financial outlook for the AHV. The new financial outlook for the first pillar of old-age provision will not be published until Monday.

Back in August, the Federal Council decided to finance the increase in AHV pensions solely through VAT and to forego additional contributions from employers and employees. The aim is to keep the AHV compensation fund in balance until 2030.

The Confederation should also contribute

According to the Federal Council's proposal, the 13th old-age pension will be introduced in 2026 and will cost around CHF 4.2 billion in the first year and just under CHF 5 billion in 2030. The Federal Council writes that the financial situation of the AHV and the federal budget requires immediate measures to finance this additional expenditure.

Not only consumers, but also the federal government should contribute to the costs of the "thirteenth" in the AHV. The Federal Council does want to reduce the federal share of AHV expenditure, but to a lesser extent than planned. As a result, the federal government would contribute around CHF 450 million per year to the 13th AHV pension from 2026.

SDA