Pax: Stable result in occupational pension plans

As a cooperative, Pax is solely committed to the interests of the insured. The profits generated remain within the company. As a result, the insured persons, who are also members of the cooperative, benefit from a surplus participation. In 2022, Pax allocated CHF 15 million to the surplus fund, an increase of 50 percent over the previous year. This results in a distribution ratio of 91.7 percent. Distributions were also increased for the benefit of policyholders, to CHF 7.9 million compared to CHF 4.1 million in the previous year. More was added to the surplus fund than was withdrawn, and its volume increased by more than 26 percent to CHF 34.2 million. This provides Pax with a solid basis for attractive surplus sharing in the future.

Financial result and premium volume

According to Pax, full insurance and DuoStar are proving their worth as solutions with a high level of security in occupational pension plans in a challenging environment: The operating result remained stable at CHF 7.2 million in 2022, only marginally lower than in the previous year (2021: CHF 7.3 million). Equity was strengthened by CHF 5.2 million to CHF 66.7 million. Pax thus offers its policyholders a high level of financial security in occupational pension provision as well.

At CHF 6.1 million, new business was slightly above the previous year, but below the company's own expectations. Pax recorded declines in single premiums and periodic premiums, with premium volume reaching CHF 426.1 million (-2.2 percent). On the other hand, according to the statement, the company has further improved the portfolio structure with consistent qualitative management, which will increase profitability in the medium term.

BVG reform as an important step for Swiss pension provision

However, the occupational pension system urgently needs to be reformed: Neither rising interest rates nor economic developments will solve the problem of the excessively high BVG conversion rate. This is exacerbated by the regulatory framework conditions, which have long since ceased to reflect economic realities. As early as 2022, Pax therefore used its own room for maneuver and introduced a new conversion rate model to curb the system-unrelated redistribution from active insured persons to pension recipients. Pax sees the reform of the occupational pension scheme passed by parliament in March 2023 as a compromise capable of gaining majority support to adapt the second pillar to the changed social and economic conditions: a further, important step on the way to securing Switzerland's pension scheme in the long term.

Simple pension design for SMEs

In addition to its commitment to sustainable Swiss pension provision, Pax is also further developing its own products: In the new 2024 group tariff, new biometric principles are taken into account, the claims experience is weighted more heavily, and the technical interest rate is increased to 1.00 percent. In addition, the introduction of mixed lines of business allows the risk profile of a company to be realistically assessed. All these measures lead to an attractive solution with advantageous premiums.

In addition, Pax offers DuoStar, a product that it claims is unique in the Swiss market. Yvonne Häring, Head of Products & Actuarial and member of the Executive Board, explains: "DuoStar combines security and potential returns in a single solution. This added value benefits companies that do not want to bear the full investment risks but still want to participate in the development of the financial markets in the long term."

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