Only Christoph Blocher waived Federal Council pension

He has given up 13 years, now Christoph Blocher (79) wants the money. The old Federal Council demands over 2.7 million francs from the state. This corresponds to the pension that he has been legally entitled to since he was voted out of the Federal Council – to which he had not previously been entitled, however. With the SVP billionaire, a former Federal Council is claiming his pension retrospectively for the first time.

–

However, it is also a fact: Blocher is currently the only Federal Councilor who has voluntarily waived the good CHF 220,000 a year, even though he would have benefited from the money.

–

In addition to Blocher, only Metzler gets no money

19 old magistrates received a retirement pension in 2019, the Federal Chancellery informed BLICK on request. The state treasury cost those who left office a total of 4.8 million francs. Among the recipients are 17 of the 19 old federal councilors currently living – and two former chancellors. They too are entitled to a retirement pension until the end of their lives. As with the Federal Councilors, this corresponds to a maximum of half of the previous wage.

–

In addition to Blocher, only Ruth Metzler (56), Minister of Justice from 1999 to 2003, was not on the federal payroll last year. “After I left the Federal Council, I temporarily received a pension,” said the former CVP Federal Councilor at BLICK’s request. “For years,” she no longer has.

–

In contrast to Blocher, Metzler doesn’t give up voluntarily, she shouldn’t be entitled to it at all. Because what the old Federal Council deserves plays a role in the amount of the pension paid. If the income and pension together are higher than the previous Federal Council wage, the pension is reduced accordingly. Anyone who earns more than the approximately 450,000 francs in federal council wages does not get anything from the state. This is most likely the case at Metzler, which sits on several boards of directors and foundations.

–

Kaspar Villiger (79, FDP) and Joseph Deiss (74, CVP) have also earned too much in the meantime to be able to receive their retirement benefits. At the moment, however, they are not waiving their pension.

–

Multi-millionaire Schneider-Ammann donates his pension

Blocher has justified the spurning of the Federal Council pension in recent years by saying that he wants to be independent of the federal government. The former Federal Councilor Johann Schneider-Ammann (68) once made the exact same argument. After retiring from the government, he said that he would probably forego the pension. “If I don’t get big enough, I probably don’t need it,” said the FDP Federal Council in an interview.

–

Now Schneider-Ammann has changed his mind – even if he is certainly not «big enough». The former patron of the Ammann Group is not as wealthy as Blocher, but the Schneider-Ammann family is one of the 300 richest in Switzerland according to the «balance sheet» ranking. Since it is not the wealth but the income that is relevant for the Federal Council pension, he still receives support from the state.

–

Leave a Comment Cancel reply