This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted to eliminate child support payments paid to pensioners, reported SRF.
In Switzerland, parents typically receive payments for every child that is at school or in higher education up to a maximum age of 25. For most, the payments are connected with employment and funded out of the social security taxes deducted from salaries. However, if someone becomes a parent in their 40s they could end up a pensioner before their children finish their education. To ensure pensioners continue to receive child support after they stop working, payments unrelated to employment were introduced. This week, a majority in parliament decided these post-employment child welfare payments, which cost around CHF 230 million a year and are paid to roughly 24,000 parents, should be abolished.
Anyone currently receiving these payments will continue to get them. But no new entitlements will be granted if the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house also agrees to the change. Parliament agreed that support would be offered to those financially dependent on these payments to avoid cases of financial hardship.
The decision comes hot on the tail of a decision last weekend by Swiss voters to increase pension payments by 8%.
Those in favour of the change argued that not everyone receiving these payments needs them. In addition, some pointed out that child support payments made to pensioners are significantly higher than those made to working parents. Another argument against them was that the payments are mainly made to men given women rarely have children after 45. Although, why one parent supporting a child would be less deserving of receiving the money than another was not made clear.
On the other side of the argument, parties on the left argued the payments ensured that children of pensioners were not disadvantaged, and described the plan to instead specifically support those in need as complicated and difficult to implement.
The challenges of funding the 8% pension increase voted in over the weekend were also used as an argument for the cut. From 2026, when the higher payments begin, an extra CHF 4 to 5 billion will be needed. As a consequence, parties from the centre and right emphasised the need to cut outgoings, an idea rejected by the left.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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