Annual Report 2012 - Swiss Life

In CHF million
31.12.2012 31.12.2011
In CHF million
31.12.2012 31.12.2011
196 Consolidated Financial Statements
Insurance liabilities with and without discretionary participation
Insurance liabilities with discretionary participation 83 706 81 943
Insurance liabilities without discretionary participation 12 164 10 314
Insurance liabilities linked to assets for the account and risk of the Swiss Life Group’s customers 1 603 1 108
Total insurance liabilities 97 474 93 365
24 Employee Benefits
Employee Benefit Liabilities
Employee benefit liabilities consist of
gross defined benefit liabilities 1 123 1 173
other long-term employee benefit liabilities 0 0
other employee benefit liabilities 104 88
Total employee benefit liabilities 1 227 1 261
Defined benefit plans
Employees are covered under various funded and unfunded pension plans. When a third party will
reimburse some or all of the expenditure for employee benefits and the rights to reimbursement do
not qualify as plan assets, they are treated as a separate asset rather than as a deduction from the
obligation. In all other respects the treatment is the same as for plan assets. Participation in the various
plans is based either on completion of a specific period of continuous service or on the date of hire.
Benefits are based on the employee’s credited years of service and average compensation in the years
preceding retirement. Annual funding requirements are determined based on actuarial methods or
local requirements.
Due to the requirements of IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts in combination with IAS 19 Employee Benefits,
insurance contracts issued to defined benefit plans covering own employees are eliminated. Insurance
contracts issued to defined benefit plans covering own employees have been issued in Switzerland and
France. Certain assets relating to these plans qualify as plan assets and are therefore not eliminated.
To the extent these plans are not funded by amounts included in the plan assets, the defined benefit
liabilities are backed by the investments relating to the eliminated insurance contracts. These investments
are part of the investments presented in the consolidated balance sheet of the Swiss Life Group.
The net asset/liability position does not incorporate any reimbursement rights.
The major part of the defined benefit liability arises from plans covering employees in Switzerland.
The primary benefit of those plans is an old-age pension paid out after reaching retirement age. There
are options for early retirement (with reduction of the pension amount determined using actuarial
methods) and for choosing to receive a lump-sum payment instead of a pension. Other benefits comprise
survivors’/orphans’ pensions in case of death as well as disability pensions (if disabled before retirement
Swiss Life – Annual Report 2012