Information sheet on «cohabitation / lump sum death benefit» (Articles 27, 28 and 30 of the Pension Fund Regulations)

Transcription

1 Profond Vorsorgeeinrichtung Zürcherstrasse 66, Postfach, 8800 Thalwil T F Profond Vorsorgeeinrichtung Hintere Bahnhofstrasse 6, Postfach, 5001 Aarau T F Profond Institution de prévoyance Rue de Morges 24, 1023 Crissier T F Information sheet on «cohabitation / lump sum death benefit» (Articles 27, 28 and 30 of the Pension Fund Regulations) Contents 1. General information 2. Surviving partner s pension 2.1. Prerequisites for a claim 2.2. Documents and deadlines 3. Lump sum payable on death 3.1. Prerequisites for a claim 3.2. Documents and deadlines 4. Additional lump sum death benefit 4.1. Prerequisites for a claim 4.2. Documents and deadlines 5. Examples 1. General information This information sheet is intended to provide a clear overview of your options and help you avoid potential unwanted consequences. An insured person who wants to provide for a cohabiting partner or who wishes to depart in some other way from the order of beneficiaries set down in the Pension Fund Regulations should note that a separate notification is required for each type of benefit. For example, if the Pension Fund receives notification from an insured that he/she has a cohabiting partner, it is not allowed to draw any conclusions from that as regards a change in the order of beneficiaries for the lump sum death benefit. Any benefits falling due for which the Pension Fund has not received any separate notification to the contrary will always be paid out in accordance with the order of beneficiaries set down in the Pension Fund Regulations and applicable laws. The Profond Pension Fund cannot review a specific claim to benefits until after the death of the insured. The claimants must furnish proof within three months of the insured person s death that they fulfil the prerequisites for entitlement. Payment of both the surviving partner s pension and the lump sum death benefit is governed by the provisions of the Pension Fund Regulations and the laws in force when the insured person dies. We reserve the right to make changes. 2. Surviving partner s pension 2.1. Prerequisites for a claim Under Article 27 of the Profond Pension Fund Regulations, the surviving partner of an insured person is entitled to a surviving partner s pension on the latter s death provided that all of the following conditions are met: There is no legal obstacle within the meaning of Art of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) to the marriage of the partners; The insured person and the beneficiary are unmarried and are not living in a registered partner- Copyright by Profond Vorsorgeeinrichtung Thalwil (ZH). 23. July 2014

2 ship; There is evidence that, prior to his/her death, the insured person and his/her partner had lived together in the same household and in a stable and exclusive partnership for an uninterrupted period of at least five years, or the partner has to support at least one common child; At the time the pension entitlement commences, the surviving partner is not receiving any other survivor s benefits (such as a surviving spouse s or surviving partner s pension) and/or has not received any corresponding lump sum payment in the past; The insured person furnished the Foundation with a written declaration prior to his/her death, or a will was submitted after the insured person s death, either of which named the cohabiting partner as beneficiary. The will must contain an unequivocal reference to the occupational pension Documents and deadlines A prerequisite for payment of the surviving partner s pension is that Profond Pension Fund was notified of the existence of the partnership during the insured person s lifetime. For this purpose, please use our Notification of cohabitation form. The cohabiting partner can also be named as a beneficiary in a will provided the relevant clause explicitly refers to occupational pension arrangements. The will must be submitted to Profond Pension Fund no later than three months after the insured person s death. documents as evidence of their entitlement: Support or cohabitation agreement (you will find specimen agreements at Confirmation of marital status from the municipality of residence; Evidence that the two partners had been living years (proof of residence of both persons); and/or Evidence that the deceased had a maintenance obligation towards a common child living in the same household. 3. Lump sum death benefit 3.1. Prerequisites for a claim Under Art. 30 a, if an insured person dies before drawing a retirement pension or before reaching regular retirement age, and no surviving spouse s or surviving partner s or surviving ex-spouse s pension is payable, the accrued retirement capital is payable in the form of a lump sum death benefit. The law allows pension funds to name further beneficiaries in their pension fund regulations (Article 20 a in conjunction with Article 49 (2) 3 of the BVG). The Profond Pension Fund avails itself of this option as follows: a) Beneficiary group 1: Children of the deceased insured person who are entitled to orphans pensions. b) Beneficiary group 2: natural persons supported to a considerable extent by the insured at the time of his/her death and the person with whom the insured lived in a domestic partnership without interruption during the last five years before his/her death, or the person responsible for the maintenance of at least one joint child; if none. c) Beneficiary group 3: Children of the deceased insured person who are not entitled to orphans pensions, and the parents and siblings of the deceased. Once a beneficiary has been found, the entitlement of any lower-ranking groups of persons is always ruled out. If there are several persons within a given group, the capital is generally paid out in equal shares. The insured person may submit written notification specifying differing shares for individual beneficiaries within the same group. However, it is not permissible to divide up claims across different groups (e.g. 50% for the surviving partner and 25% for each child). This means that if you have a maintenance obligation toward any children (either from the partnership registered with us or from any other relationship), those children will take precedence over your partner in the order of beneficiaries for as long as they remain entitled to an orphan s pension under the Pension Fund Regulations. Once the partner has been made a beneficiary, adult children who are not themselves entitled to orphans pensions and other family members can be considered in exceptional cases only. The prerequisite for family mem- 2

3 bers to be made beneficiaries is that they should already have been receiving substantial support during the insured person s lifetime and are explicitly named as beneficiaries in accordance with Article 30 a para. 2 bb of the Pension Fund Regulations Documents and deadlines Please use the Order of beneficiaries for lump sum death benefit form to notify us of your beneficiary arrangements. Beneficiaries can also be named in a will provided the relevant clause explicitly refers to occupational pension arrangements. Persons making a claim must notify the Profond Pension Fund thereof in writing no later than three months after the death of the insured person. additional documents as evidence of the legitimacy of their claim: Surviving partner - Support or cohabitation agreement (you will find specimen agreements at - Confirmation of marital status from the municipality of residence - Evidence that the two partners had been living years (proof of residence of both persons) and/or a maintenance obligation towards a common child. Other beneficiaries been providing them with substantial support. 4. Additional lump sum death benefit 4.1. Prerequisites for a claim Under Article 30 b, the employer may provide for, and set the amount of, an additional lump sum death benefit in the pension plan. If the insured person dies before drawing a retirement pension or before reaching regular retirement age, this lump sum is paid out regardless of any other benefits payable on death. As the additional lump sum death benefit is paid out even if a beneficiary is entitled to a spouse s or surviving partner s pension, the surviving spouse is also included in beneficiary group 1: a) Beneficiary group 1: the surviving spouse and children of the deceased insured person who are entitled to orphans pensions. b) Beneficiary group 2: natural persons supported to a considerable extent by the insured at the time of his/her death and the person with whom the insured lived in a domestic partnership without interruption during the last five years before his/her death, or the person responsible for the maintenance of at least one joint child; if none. c) Beneficiary group 3: children of the deceased insured person who are not entitled to orphans pensions, and the parents and siblings of the deceased insured person. Once a beneficiary has been found, the entitlement of any lower-ranking groups of persons is always ruled out. If there are several persons within a given group, the capital is generally paid out in equal shares. The insured person may submit written notification specifying differing shares for beneficiaries within the same group. However, it is not permissible to divide up claims across different groups (e.g. 50% for the surviving partner and 25% for each child). This means that if you have a maintenance obligation towards any children (either from the partnership registered with us or from any other relationship), those children will take precedence over your partner in the order of beneficiaries for as long as they remain entitled to an orphan s pension under the Pension Fund Regulations. Once the cohabiting partner has been named as beneficiary, children over 18 who are not entitled to orphans pensions can be taken into account only if they received substantial support from the insured person during the latter s lifetime and are expressly named as beneficiaries in accordance with Article 30 b para. 2 bb of the Pension Fund Regulations Documents/deadlines Please use the Order of beneficiaries for additional lump sum death benefit form to notify us of your beneficiary arrangements. Beneficiaries can also be 3

4 named in a will provided the relevant clause explicitly refers to occupational pension arrangements. Persons making a claim must notify the Profond Pension Fund thereof in writing no later than three months after the death of the insured person. documents as evidence of their entitlement: Surviving partner - Support or cohabitation agreement (you will find specimen agreements at - Confirmation of marital status from the municipality of residence; - Evidence that the two partners had been living years (proof of residence of both persons) and/or a maintenance obligation towards a common child. Other beneficiaries been providing them with substantial support. 5. Examples 1. Mr Huber is 52 years old and is insured with Profond Pension Fund. He has been living with Ms Meier in a common household for three years and would like to name his partner as beneficiary under his occupational pension plan. Is this possible? Yes, we can be notified of a partnership even if the conditions for naming the partner as a beneficiary have not yet been fulfilled. The sole decisive factor is whether the conditions are fulfilled when the pension benefits are due for payment. 2. Ms Müller is 50, divorced and has three children aged 16, 19 and 27. She has been cohabiting with Mr Hauser for an uninterrupted period of eight years. She is insured with Profond Pension Fund and has submitted the «Notification of cohabitation» form. Evidence has been provided that all children are still in education or training. The pension plan of the affiliated company covers a surviving partner s pension, but no additional lump sum death benefit. Who is entitled to what benefits in the event that Ms Müller dies before reaching retirement age? Surviving partner s pension. Orphans pensions for the children aged 16 and 19. No orphan s pension for the 27-year-old child as she is already above the age limit (25). No lump sum death benefit. 3. The same situation as in Example 2, except that Ms Müller and Mr Hauser have been cohabiting partners for only three years. While she was alive, Ms Müller also notified us that the lump sum death benefit was to be shared equally among her three children. So who is now entitled to what benefits? No surviving partner s pension. Orphans pensions for the children aged 16 and 19. No orphan s pension for the 27-year-old child as she is already above the age limit (25). As neither a surviving partner s pension nor a spouse s pension nor a pension for a divorced spouse is payable, a lump sum death benefit is payable in the amount of the accumulated retirement capital. In the order of beneficiaries, the children entitled to orphans pensions take precedence over the surviving partner and the child with no pension entitlement. This means that contrary to the wishes of the deceased the lump sum payable at death can be distributed only among the two children entitled to orphans pensions. 4. Mr Hösli, a 58-year-old widower, has two children aged 26 and 30. He is insured with the Profond Pension Fund and has submitted both an «Order of beneficiaries for lump sum death benefit» and an «Order of beneficiaries for additional lump sum death benefit». He specified in both cases that the younger child was to receive 60% of the lump sum death benefit and the elder 40%. In addition, Mr Hösli began cohabiting with Ms Maurer six years ago. In his will, Mr Hösli expressly stipulated that his partner should receive a surviving partner s pension from his occupational pension plan. The pension plan of the affiliated company provides for an additional lump sum payable at death. Who is entitled to what benefits in the event that Mr Hösli dies 4

5 before reaching retirement age? Surviving partner s pension. No orphans pensions for the children as they are already above the age limit (25). No lump sum death benefit is payable as the beneficiary is entitled to a surviving partner s pension. Additional lump sum death benefit: If Mr Hösli provided his children with substantial support up until his death, the lump sum payable at death will be shared between them in the proportions he stipulated unless he expressly named his partner as the beneficiary of the lump sum death benefit. If there is no evidence of the children having been provided with substantial support, the entire lump sum death benefit will be paid to the surviving partner as she ranks higher in the order of beneficiaries set down in the Pension Fund Regulations than the children with no entitlement to orphans pensions. The above examples serve merely to illustrate various possible situations in people s lives. They cannot be used to infer any legal claims. Moreover, the content is based on the current legal and regulatory situation (as at 1 January 2014). Profond Pension Fund cannot assume any liability for future changes. This information sheet provides an overview only. An authoritative assessment of individual cases can be made only on the basis of the provisions of the Pension Fund Regulations and the statutory provisions. IIn the event of any legal discrepancies between the original document and the translation, the original German version shall be binding. 5