How to manage ANOBAG

Hello,

I recently moved to Switzerland (Vaud) and I will be working for my existing company in the U.K. under the ANOBAG arrangement as they do not have a presence/entity in Switzerland. I have completed my AVS registration form and my understanding is that soon I will start receiving quarterly invoices for my social security payments (is that right)?

I used a company to help guide me through the initial setup and help secure  accident insurance policy and pillar 2 pension policy, so they are also both in place.

My main question is, do I need this company to continue managing the Anobag scheme now that it is set up? They are quoting me 200 CHF per month for ‘monthly reconciliations’ but I’m really not clear what I’m actually paying them to do?

My pay might fluctuate once a year due to a an annual bonus payment - perhaps they will help ensure I pay the right amount of social security (or will I be able to work out the extra I have to pay due to the bonus?)

Also, this company will provide me with a mm end of year salary statement for tax purposes. If I decided not to use this company for ongoing management of the Anobag scheme, how would I get hold of the salary statement/who would provide me with this given that my U.K. employer can’t?

Thanks for all and any advice. 
It seems so hard to find answers to these questions ☹️

Good question. The ANobAG status applies when the employer is in a country which Switzerland does not have a relevant social security agreement with. Up until now, that has meant countries outside of EFTA or the EU.

But now we have the UK, which is part of neither, but AFAIK has extended its existing social security agreement with Switzerland. It seems to be a grey area though, with the extension applying to contracts which existed before 2021, and not much clarity on what applies to new contracts/arrangements.

My hunch would be that the old rules which applied pre-Brexit still apply. That is, you cannot get the ANobAG status because the UK and Switzerland have a relevant social security agreement, so your UK employer would have to pay employer contributions to your Swiss pensions, etc. But I can't find anything clear on whether this applies to new employment taken on post-Brexit.

Sorry I can't give a clear answer. On the bright side, your employer may still have to pay their part of your Swiss contributions, which is generally a much better arrangement than you having pay it all yourself. If that is the case (that the old arrangement still applies), then it is your UK employer's responsibility to sort out the admin with Swiss social security. They can appoint you to manage this on company time, or they can use a payroll company, but that's their worry, not yours.

If, on the other hand, the old arrangement no longer applies, then you should be able to register as ANobAG.

I'm assuming the company you are using (and paying 200 francs a month for) is a Swiss payroll company. This is a practical way to go about it, but it should really be your employer paying that 200 francs per month and not you (unless you agree to the arrangement). Have you asked your employer about this? Also, has your UK employer being paying their portion of your pension contributions, accident insurance premiums, etc. so far? Or has the payroll company been docking this out of your salary?

You are paying the 200 francs per month for the privilege of being employed by a Swiss company (the payroll company) instead of a UK company. This means you can claim Swiss employee rights like sick leave, etc. and have all your Swiss social security, pension, and insurances taken care of by someone else.

As ANobAG (if that status were to apply) it would be more complicated. Your only option for a pension fund would be the Substitute Occupational Benefits Institution, and you would have to pay the full contributions yourself. You would have to get your own accident insurance. You also would have to deal with the social security office directly and pay the full contributions yourself.

Let's just say it would be good for you if the old arrangement still applies, and your UK employer is responsible to meet Swiss social security obligations and to pay their portion of contributions on top of your salary.

Whichever case applies, your employer should provide you with an annual salary statement. You can, for example, send them a template for a Swiss annual salary statement and have them fill it out and sign it.

Hi - thanks for your reply!

So in my case the old scenario still applies so I am eligible for Anobag status.

I negotiated with my company such that they are continuing to pay their contributions for accident insurance, pension etc, so this does not come out of my take home pay. They pay this directly to me then I take care of all the contributions (theirs & mine) to the relevant places. 

In terms of the Swiss based company I mentioned who has helped do the Anobag registration, I do not have a payroll arrangement with them as I am still contracted with my U.K. company who continue to pay me directly). 

What I can’t get my head around is what this Swiss company is going to do for 200CHF per month. They said it was for the monthly social security reconciliations to ensure I pay the correct amounts quarterly; it also covers production of the end of year annual salary statement. But I can’t understand what the company will be reconciling monthly and what I really want to know is can I do this myself and save myself 200CHF per month?

And re the annual salary statement, if I can get my U.K. company to fill out a template then this is one less thing the Swiss company need to do for me, so again, how much effort are these monthly reconciliations and can I just do that myself and save 200 a month?

If it is not a payroll company and you are employed in the UK, then it is just a bookkeeping service. Basically you're paying them 200 francs to take care of the admin work for you. But since the admin work is pretty minimal, I can't see any reason to pay 2400 francs per year for it to be done by someone else.

What you should be aware of if you choose to handle admin yourself is that there is a possibility of corrections or adjustments being made. For example, if you underestimated your income, get a raise, etc. then the amount you are charged for social security, etc. may end up being less than you should be paying. This is not a big issue. You will simply be billed for the difference at some point. Just be prepared for the possibility of receiving a few extra bills. Of course, you can also be reimbursed if you end up paying too much.

Since you had a bookkeeping service set everything up for you, the risk of later adjustments is pretty minimal. In my opinion, there's zero need to keep paying for that service. It would be different if you were self-employed and/or otherwise had a complicated financial and tax setup.

That’s incredibly helpful, thank you so so much. I’m so grateful I stumbled upon this forum and finally managed to find some answers! Thanks again. 

The guide for ANobAG employees in Switzerland offers useful information for people who live in Switzerland but work for employers in non-EFTA/EU countries.