Discussion
Morning,
As there are a few Swiss residents here I thought I see if they could offer any information.
I have taken early retirement at 60. Usual retirement age is 64 so the firm pay out the AHV pension in the form of a bridging pension for one year to 65.
I received my last pay check last night and was surprised to see they had deducted the bridging pension payment tax ( BIG shock) although I haven’t received the bridging payment - and thought I would get it at 64.
Swiss B permit holder and resident in Kanton Zurich.
Obviously I will be in contact with the firms finance department next week but wondered if any one could shed light on this. Have they made a mistake or have I misunderstood and will receive the bridging pension payment now and not when I am 64.
Problems always seem to arise on Friday evenings.
Cheers
Martin.
As there are a few Swiss residents here I thought I see if they could offer any information.
I have taken early retirement at 60. Usual retirement age is 64 so the firm pay out the AHV pension in the form of a bridging pension for one year to 65.
I received my last pay check last night and was surprised to see they had deducted the bridging pension payment tax ( BIG shock) although I haven’t received the bridging payment - and thought I would get it at 64.
Swiss B permit holder and resident in Kanton Zurich.
Obviously I will be in contact with the firms finance department next week but wondered if any one could shed light on this. Have they made a mistake or have I misunderstood and will receive the bridging pension payment now and not when I am 64.
Problems always seem to arise on Friday evenings.
Cheers
Martin.
Hoi Martin,
Is the taxable amount of the bridging pension stated on the payslip, and does this correspond to any other information you've previously received?
At what date do/did you officially stop working?
I've not paid Quellensteuer (or impôt à la source as we call it here in Geneva) since 2004, many of the laws have changed since then, and many procedures are cantonal rather than federal in terms of PAYE taxation. As you say, best wait til Monday and find out from your payroll people what exactly is going on.
On a related note, it's my 60th birthday in July and I will be giving in my six month's notice very soon
Is the taxable amount of the bridging pension stated on the payslip, and does this correspond to any other information you've previously received?
At what date do/did you officially stop working?
I've not paid Quellensteuer (or impôt à la source as we call it here in Geneva) since 2004, many of the laws have changed since then, and many procedures are cantonal rather than federal in terms of PAYE taxation. As you say, best wait til Monday and find out from your payroll people what exactly is going on.
On a related note, it's my 60th birthday in July and I will be giving in my six month's notice very soon
Hoi Michael
Gruuezi wohl!
Thanks for your reply.
The Bridging pension taxable amount is in with my wage tax. So tax paid is wage plus bridging pension x 25 odd %.
No mention of what happens to the bridging pension amount and nobody informed me of this before hand.
Retirement from Switzerland starts on the 01st Feb 26 so maybe the bridging pension will be paid then.
I cannot image that I need to wait 3.5 years till I am 64 to get it if they have already taken the tax.
I‘ll be contacting them first thing Monday.
Congrats on your upcoming retirement, the first 4 months have gone quite quickly for me but the last 2 months had dragged on and on.
Cheers Martin.
Gruuezi wohl!
Thanks for your reply.
The Bridging pension taxable amount is in with my wage tax. So tax paid is wage plus bridging pension x 25 odd %.
No mention of what happens to the bridging pension amount and nobody informed me of this before hand.
Retirement from Switzerland starts on the 01st Feb 26 so maybe the bridging pension will be paid then.
I cannot image that I need to wait 3.5 years till I am 64 to get it if they have already taken the tax.
I‘ll be contacting them first thing Monday.
Congrats on your upcoming retirement, the first 4 months have gone quite quickly for me but the last 2 months had dragged on and on.
Cheers Martin.
Martin_MUC said:
Hoi Michael
Retirement from Switzerland starts on the 01st Feb 26 so maybe the bridging pension will be paid then.
I cannot image that I need to wait 3.5 years till I am 64 to get it if they have already taken the tax.
I ll be contacting them first thing Monday.
I can only think that they have applied a high Quellensteuer rate to your January pay, knowing that you will receive the bridging pensions amounts monthly (the first perhaps between now and Jan 31st) and that those payments will continue gross for the rest of the year. Hence why you are paying a big chunk now, to make sure that they get their share for 2026. Are you remaining a ZH resident for the foreseeable future?Retirement from Switzerland starts on the 01st Feb 26 so maybe the bridging pension will be paid then.
I cannot image that I need to wait 3.5 years till I am 64 to get it if they have already taken the tax.
I ll be contacting them first thing Monday.
Martin_MUC said:
Congrats on your upcoming retirement, the first 4 months have gone quite quickly for me but the last 2 months had dragged on and on.
Cheers Martin.
Merci vielmal. I'm not sure the shareholders see it coming, and after 24 years service in the company plus a few directorships across the group companies here and in other countries, the disentanglement/replacement process is going to be a bit complex. Perhaps splitting my roles across (promoted) existing staff and recruiting others for their current positions. I may be asked to stay on (my maximum would be 4hrs/week via Teams remotely) in a consulting role. Cheers Martin.
Or they might tell me to FRO and never come back
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