Coronavirus – How am I insured?

The occupational retirement provision also provides insurance coverage in the event of pandemics. This means that your employees are insured for disability or death due to coronavirus. This applies to all Vita Collective Foundations.

Even if the annual salary falls temporarily due to short-time work, the previously insured wage remains unchanged. You must therefore continue to report the AHV wages you have been insured with up to now. The BVG contributions remain unchanged for the employer and the employee – i.e. the same amount as before short-time work.

Further information

Savings contributions for the Vita Collective Foundations will only be due on December 31 of the current year, as we are already giving customers additional time to make the payments. The premium contribution amounts for the risk insurance element are due on January 1. As an immediate measure during the corona crisis, Zurich and the Vita Collective Foundations decided not to retroactively charge clients any debit interests for outstanding pension fund premiums from January 1 to June 30, 2020. From July 1, 2020, a sustainably reduced debit interest rate of 2.5% will apply (compared to 4 – 5% in the previous year).

Further information

Persons newly entitled to file a claim under the special scheme are:

• employees with fixed-term contracts including temporary employees
• students
• people in a position similar to that of an employer (e.g., people employed by their own limited corporation or joint-stock company, shareholders and members of the highest executive body), including spouses or - registered partners. They can claim a lump-sum monthly allowance of 3,320 Swiss francs as short-time work compensation for a full-time position.

Further information

Employees are not entitled to compensation for short-time work

• if they are still in their notice period
• if they do not agree to short time
• if their working time cannot be checked sufficiently (e.g. work on call).

Further information

The following groups of people are entitled to compensation for loss of income due to the coronavirus:

• self-employed people who suffer a loss of income due to the closure of a business or the ban on events ordered under federal law; these include, among others, freelance artists whose engagements have been canceled,
• self-employed people who have less or no business due to the official measures taken in response to the corona pandemic, but are able to continue working and are thus only indirectly affected by the measures, for example taxi drivers, provided that their income subject to AHV contributions does not exceed 90,000 Swiss francs,
• parents with children under the age of twelve who have to interrupt their employment because there is no longer guaranteed childcare for their children; not, however, if short-time compensation is already being paid,
  parents of special-needs children under the age of 20 who have to care for these children at home, and
• people who have to interrupt their employment because of an official or medical quarantine measure; not, however, if short-time work compensation is already being paid.

Further information

Good to know for those insured by the Vita Collective Foundations
Nothing changes for employees: the applicable salary for the occupational retirement provision remains unchanged and corresponds to the presumed annual AHV salary. For self-employed people who are insured together with their staff, the following applies:

• the basis for calculating the insured salary for occupational retirement provision is still the expected annual salary.
• the annual income also includes compensation for loss of income due to measures to contain the coronavirus (coronavirus loss of income compensation).

Further information

Customers who have employers' contribution reserves and wish to use them can contact their customer advisor.

Further information

No, for the duration of their unemployment, all unemployed persons who, after any waiting period, receive daily allowances from unemployment insurance and whose daily wage exceeds 81.90 Swiss francs are subject to mandatory insurance via the BVG auxiliary fund foundation for the risks of death and disability. This does not cover retirement provision (saving). However, this can be continued voluntarily during unemployment. For this purpose, a corresponding application must be submitted within a period of 90 days after leaving the pension fund to the BVG auxiliary fund foundation.

The contributions that have to be deducted from the insured remain the same as without short time unless otherwise agreed. However, during this period the insured earns less, which results in a lower net income. On the other hand, there are no shortfalls in the pension fund.
The insured wages are not adjusted during short time.