Parmelin's Post-Council Payout Tops 239,000 Swiss Francs Gross

Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin will step down at the end of the year. He can look forward to an annual retirement pension of 239,083 Swiss francs gross. This amount is half of his current income while in office, which is approximately 478,166 Swiss francs gross.

The retirement pension for former Federal Council members is a unique benefit, as elected officials do not have a pension plan and receive no income or pension after resigning or being voted out. However, this pension is only granted if they do not take up any other lucrative employment after stepping down.

Christoph Blocher had caused controversy over his pension in 2020, initially declining to claim it but later filing a claim for 2.7 million Swiss francs, which was eventually retroactively granted by the Federal Council as approximately 1.1 million Swiss francs.

The payment of this pension has been a subject of controversy in recent years, with the National Council's Committee on State Policy wanting to abolish it entirely in 2024. However, the decision was rejected in favor of maintaining the current system.