Retirement
Ensure you are well prepared, because good insurance cover becomes even more important in retirement.
If you plan your retirement carefully, you can be more relaxed as you start the new phase of your life. You can find out what matters when it comes to health and accident insurance here, in addition to why thinking ahead is particularly important for supplementary insurance.
Well prepared for retirement: insurance knowledge for Switzerland
Is your retirement approaching? Then you’ve probably already thought a lot about the new phase of your life. Do not just think about organising your day-to-day life or financial matters, because your health and good insurance cover are now even more important.
Plan your insurance cover just as carefully as all other aspects of your retirement. For supplementary health insurance and certain types of risk insurance (e.g. capita accident) in particular, you should get things on track early – ideally while you are in good health. After all, insurance is not compulsory in this case.
This means that if you wish to take out supplementary insurance or increase the supplementary benefits, you must submit an application and complete a health questionnaire. Your application can be accepted without reservation, rejected or accepted with restrictions. In addition, some risk insurance policies cannot be taken out by people over 60.
No long-term planning is required for basic insurance and accident insurance. With basic insurance, you have the option of switching health insurer, changing your insurance model or adjusting your deductible every year. Health insurers are obliged to accept everyone. That is why you do not have to fill out a questionnaire about your health if you switch to Sympany. More about switching health insurance provider ›
The most important change concerns accident insurance, as people who are employed are comprehensively insured against accidents through their employer, provided that they work at least eight hours per week. This insurance cover expires when you finish working (a maximum of 31 days after leaving the company). From then on, pensioners must take out insurance against accidents via the basic insurance. After all, accident insurance is compulsory for everyone in Switzerland. The procedure depends on when you retire:
- If you take early retirement, you must include accident cover in your basic insurance. There are no deadlines for this; it can be included at any time from the first day of the month. Change accident cover in mySympany ›
- When you reach the statutory retirement age, Sympany automatically includes accident cover in your basic insurance. If you retire at the normal age, you therefore do not need to do anything.
- Are you working beyond retirement age? If so, please let us know every year so that we exclude accident cover from basic insurance. From the age of 70, we require proof that you have other accident cover every year.
Health insurance will continue as before in retirement:
- Basic insurance provides the same basic benefits in every insurance model. This will not change even after retirement.
- Have you already taken out supplementary health insurance tailored to your needs? This means that you have the best possible protection and can rely on further benefits if necessary.
Benefits that become increasingly important in retirement
Basic insurance
Whether you need a doctor’s appointment, medication, hospital stay, or rehabilitation, after retirement, you will benefit from exactly the same basic insurance benefits as before. With age, however, certain benefits become increasingly important. For instance, basic insurance contributes to the costs
- for care at home (Spitex),
- for care in an institution (nursing home) and
- for many aids, such as dressings or walking aids (see List of Medical Supplies and Devices (MiGeL) from the Federal Office of Public Health).
Supplementary insurance
With supplementary health insurance, you can choose tailored supplementary cover – from a single room in a hospital to an alternative treatment method and from preventive health care to a contribution towards glasses and contact lenses.
It is worth continuing your current insurance cover even after you retire. If you reduce benefits now and want to increase them again later, this may no longer be possible in the way you want. After all, individual health and health risks play an important role when accepting people for supplementary insurance.
Important questions and answers about retirement
Yes, it is easy to choose a different insurance model at any age, even if you have pre-existing illnesses. You also do not have to make a long-term commitment and can decide which model best suits your situation every year. Further information on changing the insurance model ›
That depends on your personal needs. The most important benefits at a glance:
- Traditional basic insurance gives you a free choice of doctor throughout Switzerland. You can go directly to a specialist doctor and do not require a referral. More about classic basic insurance ›
- With the savings models, you benefit from attractive premium discounts. In return, you always have a specified first point of contact, such as your GP or HMO centre. They coordinate your medical care. This means there are no unnecessary treatments – and no unnecessary costs for you. More about the savings models ›
With supplementary insurance, you must apply for every change of cover and also for every new insurance policy. To do this, you must provide information about your state of health and any pre-existing conditions in a questionnaire. Depending on your age and risk, your application may only be accepted with reservations or may be rejected. There are also waiting periods for certain benefits. You should therefore take out or amend supplementary insurance with sufficient time before retirement – and while you do not urgently need the supplementary protection.
For basic insurance, the law stipulates age-dependent health insurance premiums. However, this does not affect retirement age. These are the age groups for basic insurance:
- Children and adolescents (0 to 18 years)
- Young adults (19 to 25 years)
- Adults (aged 26 and over)
For supplementary insurance, premiums for adults (aged 26 and over) are generally adjusted every five years based on their age.
If you move to an EU/EFTA country or the United Kingdom (UK) and receive your OASI pension exclusively from Switzerland, you generally remain subject to compulsory health insurance in Switzerland. Depending on the country, however, you can choose whether to be insured in your old or new home. You can check whether you are obliged to take out insurance on the Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG website.
If you move to a country outside the EU, EFTA or the United Kingdom (UK), your compulsory basic insurance ends when you move there. Detailed information can be found on the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs website.
If you expect to have more doctor’s appointments and treatments in the coming year, it may be worth adjusting. Although your monthly premium will increase with a lower deductible, you will have to contribute less to the health benefits. Overall, this may mean that your costs could be lower than with the current deductible.
More information on co-payment ›
It is best to continue to review your chosen deductible on a regular basis. You can adjust the deductible annually.
Change deductible ›
The cantons specify the details of which criteria determine the premium reduction. If you live in modest financial circumstances, it is best to obtain information directly from your canton of residence. Supplementary benefit recipients can settle their health insurance premiums via the supplementary benefits.
Pensioners are entitled to a premium reduction if they are insured in Switzerland and live in the EU, Iceland, Norway or the United Kingdom (UK). Further information can be found on the Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG website.
