The Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) has continued a shake-up of its top management following controversy over inaccurate financial projections for the first-pillar pension fund AHV.
The FSIO, which oversees the AHV, IV and EO social security funds as well as occupational pensions, this week announced the appointment of Mathieu Erb as deputy director. His appointment follows the designation of former Publica director Doris Bianchi as FSIO director in April last year.
Bianchi succeeded Stéphane Rossini, who stepped down after errors were made in calculating the financial trajectory of the AHV, the largest of the three first-pillar social security funds, with CHF40bn in assets managed by Compenswiss.
The Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs launched an administrative investigation to clarify why AHV costs had been overestimated, a mistake that undermined public trust in the state pension system.
The investigation cleared Rossini of breaching his duties as director, instead identifying technical failures in the software used to model the AHV’s financial outlook, as well as a shortage of human resources within the FSIO, according to the final investigation report.
Further reforms on the way
As deputy director, Erb will head the unit responsible for first- and second-pillar benefits (ABEL), succeeding Colette Nova.
The division is also responsible for preparing legislation, particularly in the context of pension reforms, and for contributing to the further development of occupational pension schemes.
Further changes to both the first- and second-pillar pension systems are in preparation by the government and parliament.
Last November, the Swiss government set out guidelines to stabilise the AHV’s finances over the period 2030–2040.
These include aligning contribution rates for the self-employed and employed, imposing mandatory contributions on “unusually high dividends” paid by certain companies to employees and shareholders, and levying contributions on sickness and accident allowances.
The measures are expected to generate around CHF700m in additional revenue for the AHV by 2040.
Earlier this month, the Social Security and Health Committee of the National Council, the lower house of parliament, voted in favour of two proposals affecting the second pillar: one to revise employee and employer contributions, and another to introduce occupational pension savings from the age of 20.
The pension funds association ASIP “strongly” reject the proposals, director Lukas Müller-Brunner told Swiss publication Schweizer Personalvorsorge.
