When applying for a pension, the IV checks two things: Which activity is reasonable for the person concerned despite the impairment? And: how much is the wages for it?
The so-called median wage for the reasonable job is then compared with the previous wage. The greater the difference, the higher the degree of disability – and the chance of an IV pension or retraining.
As complicated as this calculation, the consequences for those affected are just as drastic. In 2019, SonntagsBlick reported on a former truck driver with a never-ending medical history. At the time, the IV agency came to the conclusion that working as a chauffeur “from a medical point of view is still 60 percent able to work”. In every “adapted” activity, the ability to work is even 100 percent – provided that it can be performed “predominantly sitting”, “without frequent climbing stairs or ladders” and “not in a crouching or kneeling position”.
The IV office concluded from this that the applicant “with health impairments” could earn 66,720 francs per year. “Without health restrictions”, the authorities assumed that the former truck driver had an annual income of 69,371 francs. His annual loss of earnings was 2651 francs, or four percent. Consequently, there is also a degree of disability of only four percent. Conclusion: “No entitlement to a disability pension.”
Whoever has is given to him
The decision would have been different if the person concerned had earned significantly more before their disability, for example 120,000 francs. This would have resulted in a loss of CHF 53,280, a degree of disability of 44 percent and at least the right to a partial pension.
The example shows: the less someone earns, the lower the chance of receiving a disability pension if necessary. The Federal Council will shortly have to deal with this disadvantage of low wage earners. Since a new IV law is to come into force on January 1, 2022, the corresponding ordinance must also be adapted.
Nothing will change in the calculation of the degree of disability. What is under discussion, however, is which reference wages should be used in the future to determine the theoretical income with impairment.
Studies show that IV agencies systematically overestimate what a disabled person can still earn. The reason: The IV bases its calculations on the wage structure survey (LSE) of the Federal Statistical Office. However, these table wages reflect the wage level of people without health problems – and are therefore too high.
The Federal Supreme Court recently held that the LSE could only serve as a temporary solution for calculating the degree of disability. And even the SVP wrote in its response to the consultation: “It has been proven that people with impaired health (…) earn between 10 to 15 percent less than healthy people in the same job.”
Inaction at the federal level
In spite of everything, efforts at the federal level to create a better data basis are scarcely discernible. Even more: It even seems possible that the Federal Council will write the LSE as a reference in the new ordinance.
Alex Fischer from the Procap organization for the disabled thinks this is frightening: “The Federal Council would thereby cement the disadvantage of low-wage earners.” He hopes that a new data collection will be prescribed instead. “We finally need figures that show a realistic picture of the earning potential of people with disabilities.”
If the Federal Council is not ready to collect new data, it will have to move away from the median wage. Fischer: “The IV should at least be obliged to base its calculations on the lower quarter of wages.” That would at least get closer to reality.