Cheap health insurance for Swiss pensioner living abroad

Hi

I am a Swiss woman (born 1973) and I moved to Germany in 2014. I am 100% disabled and receive a full Swiss disability pension. Until recently, I had a guardian in Switzerland which handled all the paperwork for me, including my health insurance.

The problem is that my Swiss health insurance (Aquilana 5400 Baden) charges high monthly premiums that literally take the food out of my mouth as I am left peniless after covering my premiums each month. I would like to terminate that policy at the end of the year, but I can't get German health insurance because of my physical condition.

So my only alternative is to move to another Swiss health insurance with accident insurance. I just don't have a clue about how to find out which insurance is cheapest for Swiss disability pensioners living abroad and how I should go about changing policies.

I can't do it online because I would need to enter a Swiss address and I don't live in Switzerland. Which Swiss insurance companies will insure me as a Swiss citizen with a Swiss social security pension living in Germany? It would be great to get a clear answer on this and be able to sort out the problem once and for all. Thank you for your help with this.

Kind regards

Greetings,

If you receive a disability or old-age pension from Swiss social security, you generally have to be insured by a Swiss health insurance company whether you live in Switzerland or abroad. This applies to social security pensions only and not to pension fund pensions.

Around a third of Swiss health insurance companies offer basic compulsory health insurance policies for Swiss citizens living in EU and EFTA member countries. Special insurance premiums apply for Swiss who reside in EU countries (like Germany) because your premiums are not based on your canton or specific premium region.

If you have low income - or none at all - you may be eligible for insurance premium reductions. To be more precise: If insurance premiums make up more than 6% of your annual gross income and you possess less than 100,000 francs, you can apply for premium reductions.

You can find the application here on the website of the Gemeinsamen Einrichtung KVG.

An overview of insurance premiums for policyholders residing in EU countries at different health insurance providers is available here. You can compare the premiums you pay with those charged by other insurance companies.

Take the time to compare the premiums for the coming year when they are released in October and switch policies if a cheaper one is available. You can request an application by mail or over the phone. Most insurers also let you begin your application online. In most cases, your new insurer will manage the termination of your current policy.

Best regards from the Moneyguru

Hello

I left Switzerland on 1 January 2019. I hold a Swiss passport and receive a Swiss AVS pension. I have moved to the UK where I have registered with the NHS and have received some medical services. I have been told that I must continue to pay for Swiss Health insurance CHF 550 per month because of my Swiss pension. I do not think it is right that I have to maintain this financial burden indefinitely as a pensioner of 73. How can I get an exemption? would I have to pay Swiss Health insurance if I moved to France? Or to Canada? I am a Canadian national.

I did not see this issue covered in your online article 'Leaving Switzerland? 7 important financial questions answered’

Thank you for explaining this to me.

If you receive a Swiss OASI pension and reside in a country which is not a member of the European Union (EU) or the European Free Trade Association (ETFA), you are not required to maintain Swiss compulsory health insurance. If you move to Canada, for example, you would not have to keep your Swiss health insurance.

If you receive a Swiss OASI pension and reside in an EU or EFTA member country, then a number of criteria determine whether or not you have to maintain Swiss compulsory health insurance:

1. Do you receive a pension from another EU or EFTA member country? In which country did you pay social security contributions for the longest period of time? If you lived or worked in a different EU or EFTA member country for longer than you lived or worked in Switzerland, then you have to get insured in that country. In this case, you can receive an OASI pension but not have to keep your Swiss health insurance when you move outside of Switzerland to an EU or EFTA country.

2. Do you receive a social security pension from your country of residence? If you receive a pension from your country of residence, you have to get insured in that country, even if that pension scheme was not the primary scheme you contributed to. For example, if you receive even a very small pension in the UK (where you live), you must get health insurance in the UK even if you receive a much larger Swiss OASI pension.

3. Switzerland has individual social security agreements with France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Portugal and Spain. If you receive a Swiss OASI pension and live in one of these countries, you can choose whether you want to keep your Swiss health insurance or get insured in your country of residence. The catch here is that you must apply to have your Swiss health insurance waived within either your first 3 months as an OASI pensioner or within 3 months of taking up residence in the eligible country. This application should be sent to: Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG, Postfach, CH-4503 Solothurn

The UK, on the other hand, currently falls under the social security agreement governing EU member countries. This means that you have to keep your Swiss health insurance while residing in the UK if your OASI pension is your primary pension as per point 1.

4. If you move outside of Switzerland to an EU or EFTA country, you should receive an S1 certificate from the Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG/Institution commune LAMaL which you must give to your health insurance provider in your country of residence. Your local health insurance provider then acts as an intermediary and you can file all claims and receive benefits from that local health insurance provider (for example, the NHS in the case of the UK). The local health insurance provider, in turn, gets reimbursed by your Swiss health insurance.

5. If your taxable income falls below certain thresholds, you may be eligible to receive premium reductions (find more information in the guide to premium reductions). You can apply for these by mail at the address in point 3.

Best regards from Moneyguru