Complementary services significantly more extensive
The supplementary benefits that came into force on January 1, 2021 were reformed in March 2019 and primarily affect the amount of benefits and their calculation. The requirements to be met have also been significantly revised:
- Rent maximums increased
Housing costs are taken into account when calculating the supplementary benefits. The cap on these costs has now been increased to better reflect actual costs.
- Assets taken into account
In the future, the assets will be added to the calculation of supplementary benefits. Only those people whose assets are less than 100,000 francs are entitled to benefits; for married couples, double the amount applies. The allowances for adults have been reduced, for children they have remained the same.
- Refund obligation
If a person received supplementary benefits, heirs must repay them if the inheritance is more than 40,000 francs and the deceased received these benefits within the ten years prior to death.
- New calculation
A person's income is now taken into account at 80 percent when it comes to calculating the supplementary benefit. When specifying the premium for health insurance, the full premium is taken into account.
- Paternity leave possible
For children born on or after January 1, 2021, fathers can now take paternity leave, which is paid for a period of up to ten days. It is possible to take single days as well as two weeks at a time. After that, the father can draw 14 daily allowances, which are to be financed through the income compensation scheme. In order to be able to take paternity leave, however, the father must have been insured with the AHV for the nine months prior to the birth of the child and must have been gainfully employed for at least five months. 80 percent of the previous gross income is used for the calculation, with a maximum of CHF 196 being paid per day.
Changes also in health insurance
In 2021, the contribution to health insurance will increase by around 0.5 percent, with the average premium remaining the same or even decreasing in some cantons. In the case of children in particular, the contributions tend to decrease; in the case of young adults and adults, they usually increase.
So that the health insurances are induced to calculate the premiums correctly and not to build up unnecessarily high reserves, the health supervision ordinance should be adjusted. The reserves should then be only 28 million francs in 2021 and no longer around 11 billion francs as in 2020. This in turn is intended to ensure that the premiums that have been taken in too much so far are returned to the insured. However, this new regulation is not yet in force; it will only come into force later this year.
And one more thing that is being planned: There are now two popular initiatives that deal with health insurance premiums. On the one hand, there is the initiative to brake costs (? For lower premiums? Cost brake in the health care system?), And on the other hand, the initiative? A maximum of 10 percent of income for health insurance premiums ?. In the coming years, the Federal Parliament will discuss the proposals of the initiatives and also consider counter-proposals. Then the templates are presented to the people.
Conclusion: Numerous innovations to be expected in 2021
2021 will bring numerous innovations in terms of social insurance in Switzerland, although the above are far from complete. There are also various changes in terms of continued wages for short-term absences from work for the care of relatives, the expansion of care credits and the intensive care surcharge for hospital stays, which are intended to relieve the insured. In addition, the 1st pillar pensions will also be increased from 2021. Overall, the supply is thus significantly better secured.
