What one chamber does, the other undoes. During this legislature, this is a very frequent situation at the Federal Palace. When the National Council accepts a proposal, the Council of States refuses it, or vice versa. This is the case this time with the use of his capital in the 2nd pillar to acquire a home. During the spring session, the National Council had accepted a motion defended by Philippe Nantermod. He recalled that in 2012, FINMA, the supervisory body of financial circles had reduced the possible contribution of the 2nd pillar to half of the equity (20%) advanced to become an owner.
“Since 2012, had specified the Valaisan, the rules of accession to the property by using its second pillar have been greatly tightened. This particularly affects young people, people who are between 35 and 45 years old, who have worked as employees, who have put money aside through their pension fund and who can no longer access property as they could before”. The motion had been accepted by 81 votes to 71, ie votes from the right and a few votes from the left.
This Wednesday, the State Social Security and Public Health Commission swept the proposal by 12 votes against 0 and 1 abstention. According to her: “The relaxation proposed in the motion would increase the risk taken by the persons concerned of losing their pension capital, in particular in the event of a real estate crisis, which would lead to additional charges for social assistance”. It also endorses the argument of the Federal Council that such a relaxation would drive up prices and “would therefore make access to property even more difficult”.