Safeguarding pension assets in the event of neglect of the duty to pay alimony
As of January 1, 2022, new reporting requirements will apply for the pension and vested benefits institutions.
It is about persons who do not fulfill their maintenance obligation. If, for example, someone does not pay the alimony owed for children, the aim is to prevent this person from drawing capital from his or her occupational pension plan and being able to set the money aside unnoticed. To avoid misunderstandings in the reporting procedure, the specialized agencies and the institutions must in the future use the forms written by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) for the reports.
The specialized agencies for collection assistance can report to the pension and vested benefits institutions persons who neglect their duty of support. The pension fund is subsequently obliged to inform the specialized agency immediately when a lump-sumpayment is due. This enables the collection agency to take legal action in good time to secure the maintenance claims.
The pension fund must apply the new legal provisions from January 1, 2022, i.e. from then onwards it must immediately inform the specialized agencies in such cases if a one-off lump-sum payment of at least CHF 1000 or a cash payment in accordance with FZG of at least CHF 1000 is to be made or if pension assets are to be paid out, pledged or realized as part of the real estate ownership promotion scheme (Art. 40 para. 3 and 4 BVG; Art. 24fbis para. 4 and 5 FZG) and ensure that no lump-sum payments are made to notified persons without prior notification to the specialist unit. In cases of withdrawals for residential purposes and payments of retirement or disability benefits or leaving/vested benefits in lump-sum form, the Pension Fund must wait for a period of 30 days after notification before making the payment to the insured. The new notification requirements apply to both mandatory and non-mandatory occupational pension plans (Art. 49 para. 2 no. 5a BVG, Art. 89a para. 6 no. 4a ZGB). The new reporting requirements do not apply to the payment of an equitable share of pension assets in a divorce ruling.
