Interpellation Wyss (22.4011): Digitization BVG. Added value for all?
Submitted text
More than 15 percent of employees change jobs each year (700,000 job changes). Many of them seamlessly change their employer and thus their pension fund (PF). The procedure for this is still very paper-based. The insured person receives a letter from his or her previous pension fund.
To facilitate the exchange of LOB information between the PFs, the BVG Auffangeinrichtung established a platform: BVG-Exchange. This allows data on insured persons to be transferred digitally as soon as it is clear that the person is switching from PF A to PF B. This saves the PF up to 80 percent time in processing. This saves the PF up to 80 percent time in processing.
What remains is for the old PF to write to the insured person so that he or she knows where the retirement assets must be transferred. This step could also be digitized. The new PF has already been informed by the employer that a new insured person is joining. If it shares this data on a platform, the transferring PF can identify the new one and transfer the retirement assets and information to the new PF without the insured person having to do anything.
The Federal Council is requested to answer the following questions:
a. Is the Federal Council of the opinion that such a digitalization of the occupational pension scheme can significantly optimize the processes and thus the costs of the pension scheme?
b. Does the Federal Council believe that the digitization of pension provision can increase access to and understanding of pension provision among the population?
c. Currently, Article 1(2) of the Ordinance on Vesting in Pension Plans requires the insured person to transmit the data to the previous and new pension fund: would the Federal Council be prepared to amend the provision of the Ordinance to the effect that digitization becomes possible, but that at the same time the insured person can waive such digitization in the event of proactive notification (opt-out)?
d. Are there any other ordinance or legislative provisions that would need to be adapted so that digitization can be carried out? Is the Federal Council prepared to take the necessary steps to this end?
Statement of the Federal Council of 16.11.22
In Switzerland, there are approximately 1500 pension and vested benefits institutions, which differ greatly from one another in terms of organization and structure. They have extensive organizational autonomy for the fulfillment of their tasks.
a) The level of digitization in pension fund administration is already very high today. Many institutions, especially the larger ones, have already digitized the exchange of data and information both among themselves and with insured persons and employers. All recurring and automatable processes are already carried out digitally to the greatest possible extent. The administration of enrollments and withdrawals of insured persons mentioned by the interpellant represents only a small part of the administrative tasks of pension funds. The institutions should also be able to decide for themselves how to manage the exchange of data and information in this subarea in accordance with their organizational and administrative circumstances. They have a strong interest in organizing this efficiently and with a good cost/benefit ratio in order to keep their administrative costs as low as possible.
b) The Federal Council is aware that the subject of occupational pensions is a demanding one. Pension institutions can contribute to a better understanding of their insured persons through simple, clear and transparent communication. In this context, digital initiatives that strengthen transparency about personal pension provision are to be welcomed. Even more than digital exchanges between pension plans, tools that allow insured persons to interact directly with pension plans digitally and get an immediate overview online of a future retirement pension based on life events are a step toward even more transparent information vis-à-vis insured persons. This could encourage younger people in particular to look into retirement planning at an early stage.
c/d) According to the Ordinance on Vesting in Occupational Retirement, Survivors’ and Disability Pension Plans (Verordnung über die Freizügigkeit in der beruflichen Alters‑, Hinterlassenen- und Invalidenvorsorge; SR 831.425), employees only have to inform their pension institution to which new pension or vested benefits institution they should transfer their termination benefit. This notification obligation is a prerequisite for the pension institutions involved to be able to exchange the information required for the processing of vested benefits cases at all, because only the insured persons have this knowledge. Therefore, the reporting obligation of the insured persons cannot be waived. However, the current provisions do not stand in the way of an electronic exchange of information. The Federal Council would also welcome increased digitization efforts in this area as well. All other information obligations in the case of vested benefits, such as the notification of the mandatory retirement assets, relate exclusively to the institutions involved. This exchange of data between the institutions, which is required for entries and withdrawals, is already carried out digitally in many cases (see answer a). This is already possible under current law in accordance with existing data protection requirements and does not require any additional changes to ordinances or legislation.