A/HRC/45/15/Add.1 31. The basic pension system (first pillar) is an insurance designed to cover basic needs and is compulsory for the entire working and/or residing population. 12 The system is funded by contributions based on income (approximately 10 per cent of the individual’s income) and participation by public authorities; employees and employers pay an equal percentage of income without any upper limit; those who are self-employed pay a percentage of their income. Persons not in paid employment pay a fixed amount according to their social conditions (a minimum of SwF 461 in 2019). The resulting pensions are between SwF 1,185 and SwF 2,370 per month. Individuals covered under this system are also eligible for supplementary benefits, 13 which are non-contributory and correspond to the excess of expenses over income. These benefits are supposed to cover the basic needs for a person living at home: at the time of the visit, this was estimated at SwF 19,450 per year, in addition to the rent of an apartment up to a maximum of SwF 13,200 per year. Old-age pensions are disbursed at the age of 65 for men and 64 for women; to qualify, the individual must have at least one complete year of contributions. Foreign nationals must be domiciled in Switzerland. An individual would also be entitled to a widower’s or widow’s pension, if he or she has one or more children; a widow who has no children is also entitled to a widow’s pension if she is over 45 years of age and had been married for at least five years. Children are entitled to an orphan’s pension if the mother or father is deceased, and to two orphan’s pensions if both parents are deceased. Persons with an incapacity to engage in paid work or to perform housework are entitled to an invalidity pension, which corresponds to one quarter, one half or three quarters of a pension, or a full pension, according to the rate of the incapacity (between 40 and 70 per cent incapacity). To qualify, individuals need to have made contributions for three years; if they are foreign nationals, they must be domiciled in Switzerland. 32. The occupational benefit plans system (second pillar) is a compulsory insurance for employees with an annual income of over SwF 21,330.14 The aim of this pillar is to enable persons to maintain their previous standard of living after retiring. An employer who employs persons subject to compulsory insurance must be affiliated with a registered provider of occupational benefit plans. Contributions are calculated in accordance with the regulations governing second-pillar institutions. Pensions are calculated as a percentage of the retirement assets that the insured person has accumulated. 33. So-called linked individual provident measures (third pillar) provide optional additional coverage. 15 Individuals may make payments to a blocked bank account or a blocked insurance policy; a maximum of SwF 6,826 per year can be deducted from taxable income for that purpose. The amounts are blocked until the insured event (old age, invalidity or death) occurs. 34. Health insurance is compulsory for all persons domiciled in Switzerland. 16 Individuals are free to choose among about 50 insurance companies. The companies fix individual premiums, but these must be approved by the authorities. Premiums must be lower for children and young adults (under the age of 25 years) and may be graded according to different regional costs. A wide range of health and maternity benefits is 12 13 14 15 16 The system is regulated by the federal act on old-age and survivors’ insurance of 20 December 1946, the federal act on invalidity insurance of 19 June 1959 and the federal act on general provisions concerning legislation on social insurances of 6 October 2000. Regulated by the federal act on benefits supplementary to old-age and survivors’ insurance and invalidity insurance of 6 October 2006 and the federal act on general provisions concerning legislation on social insurances. Regulated by the federal act on occupational benefit plans concerning old age, survivors and invalidity of 25 June 1982; the federal act on vested benefits in occupational benefit plans concerning old age, survivors and invalidity of 17 December 1993; and the federal act on the encouragement of home ownership through occupational benefit plans of 17 December 1993. Regulated under the federal act on occupational benefit plans concerning old age, survivors and invalidity, art. 82, para. 2, and the ordinance on tax relief allowed for contributions paid to recognized pension plans of 13 November 1985. Regulated by the federal act on sickness insurance of 18 March 1994; the federal law on sickness insurance supervision of 26 September 2014; and the federal act on general provisions concerning legislation on social insurances. 7