SUISA Pension Fund

SUISA Pension Fund for Authors and Publishers fulfils a social function and contributes to the retirement pension of SUISA members and principals. The Pension Fund grants pension benefits to authors and publishers who satisfy certain conditions.

The SUISA Pension Fund (SPF) was established on 10 June 1941; it is mainly funded by a 7.5% deduction on all performance and broadcasting right and remuneration settlements in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The purpose of the Pension Fund is to protect SUISA's members and principals, and their respective survivors, against the economic consequences of retirement and disability by granting retirement benefits.

Guaranteed retirement income for authors

Under certain conditions, authors are guaranteed a secure annual income, designated “reference income”. The reference income is calculated based on the average remuneration from performance and broadcasting rights and remuneration claims earned from the start of membership until the start of the pension. If membership lasts less than 40 years, the reference income is reduced by 1.67% for each missing year. Thus, after 10 years of membership, the reduction would be 50%.

The actual pension payment is equal to the difference between the reference income and the SUISA settlements paid to the author concerned in the pension year (July to June). The SPF funds the share of the reference income which the author or the author’s survivors (surviving spouse or partner’s pension, orphans’ pensions) do not receive in the current settlement, thus guaranteeing a lifelong secure income regardless of any decline in the income from the use of the works.

If an author's settlements in the relevant year are higher than his or her individual reference income, the author is not entitled to a pension payment from the SPF for that year.

The reference income is capped at CHF 40,500

SUISA contacts the authors entitled to a pension when they reach retirement age; members and principals do not have to contact SUISA in this regard.

When does SUISA pay me a retirement pension?

For more detailed information, see the “Pension Fund Regulations“ and the Fact Sheet “Pension benefits for Authors“.

Eligibility criteria for authors

to have reached age 63
to have been member of SUISA for at least 10 years
annual average of performance and broadcasting revenues and remuneration claims of at least CHF 250 generated by a member's works

Calculation example for an author’s retirement pension

Assume an author whose individual reference income is CHF 9,000. In the period between July 2023 and June 2024, the author receives settlements totaling CHF 3,000 from SUISA for deriving from his or her works in Switzerland and abroad.

The difference of CHF 6,000 is paid together with the July 2024 pension statement.

Benefits to authors’ survivors

Apart from pension benefits to authors, SUISA Pension Fund for Authors and Publishers also pays benefits to surviving spouses, registered partners, life partners and orphans. The eligibility criteria and reference income for such benefits are set forth in the SPF Regulations.

All pension benefits (except emergency support payments) are granted independently from any benefits of any other social security schemes and insurances and from any private pension plans of the recipients.

Emergency support payments

The SPF Regulations also provide for one-time support payments for authors or their survivors in cases of emergency (especially in the event of illness, accident or natural disasters).

The SUISA Pension Fund for Authors and Publishers is member of the “Das NETZ” association. Das NETZ offers budget planning, social counselling and support to cultural workers in times of hardship. Social services professionals are on call in all parts of Switzerland.

If you are in distress and wish to apply for these services, please contact SUISA Pension Fund for Authors and Publishers.

Netzwerk “Vorsorge Kultur“ (benefits network for cultural workers) is another benefits institution whose advisory services are operated by Suisseculture Sociale. For the elderly, or in case of death or disability: Netzwerk Vorsorge Kultur offers occupational benefits for artists in all artistic genres.
www.vorsorge-kultur.ch

Benefits for publishers

The SPF also offers benefits to publishers whose publishing activities in Switzerland satisfy the eligibility criteria. The benefits system for publishers is structured differently, however.

The benefits for publishers are explained under: “Pension Fund for Publishers”

Documents

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Cost-of-living adjustment for authorsʼ pensions

Effective 1 January 2024, the reference income for authors was adjusted to the cost of living. What does this mean in practice and how do the two pension systems work?

Read the blog article