Switzerland, man changes gender to retire earlier
Would you be willing to change gender to retire a year early? A man with Swiss nationality, using the simplified administrative procedure that has been in force in the Confederation since January 1, did it: of course, it’s just a change in the register, with no medical documentation required, but the change is still there … significant. Not least because it opens a significant rift in Swiss legislation as the new rules can be used to obtain improper economic advantages.
A 10 minute interview is enough
The story is about a 60-year-old man from the canton of Lucerne: he became a woman a year earlier in order to receive his old-age pension, according to the local newspaper Luzerner Zeitung, which describes the implemented strategy as “also unsuitable for profit”. The premise lies in an amendment to the Civil Code that came into force on January 1st, which simplifies the gender reassignment procedure as much as possible: A 10-minute conversation with public officials is enough to determine the citizen’s capacity and the payment of a registration fee of approx. 72 euros There is no medical documentation or evidence of actual biological sex change.
The allowance ranges from 13,400 to 27,000 euros
The 60-year-old from the canton of Lucerne took advantage of this new regulation in order to draw the AHV pension, i.e. insurance, old age and survivors, at the age of 64 instead of 65. It’s a basic allowance
founded in 1925, which consists of a large sum (varies between 13,480 and 26,960 euros). She then openly confessed to relatives and friends that her motivation to become a woman at the registry office was solely of a financial nature. According to the local press, the man is already known in his canton
his “provocations”, but even if the abuse is obvious, the administration has not yet challenged the dossier for a possible revision.
Norm discussed because it lends itself to abuse
Apparently, history has reignited the debate about the specific risk of abuse by those who ask for a gender reassignment at the registry office just to gain non-gender benefits, such as anticipating the payment of a pension or avoiding conscription. When the rule was passed in late 2020, advocates of faster gender reassignment had ruled out these risks, and the administration itself considers such misconduct “unlikely” in the leaflet distributed to staff. Because of this, civil registry officials have been asked not to ask for a medical certificate “to actively look for abuse” for fear of being accused of transphobia. This means that all applications for gender reassignment in civil status are almost automatically accepted in Switzerland.