Supplementary benefits (PC) — AVS/AI complement in Geneva

Supplementary benefits for AVS and AI pensioners whose income falls below the subsistence minimum — conditions, calculation, divestment rules, estate-recovery reform 2021.

Supplementary benefits (PC, LPC RS 831.30) cover the difference between an AVS or AI pension and the subsistence minimum. They are paid in Geneva by the Service des prestations complémentaires (SPC). The application is technical, often delayed by missing documents, and may give rise to divestment-recovery actions that surprise the family at death.

Eligibility

Three cumulative conditions (LPC art. 4) :

  • domicile and habitual residence in Switzerland;
  • recipient of an AVS, AI or extraordinary pension;
  • fortune and income below the legal limits.

The fortune limit (since the 2021 reform) is CHF 100’000 for a single person, CHF 200’000 for a couple, plus housing-specific amounts. A property owned by the applicant counts as fortune.

Calculation — what counts as “income”

The determining income (LPC art. 9 ss) includes :

  • AVS or AI pension;
  • second-pillar pension assets or income;
  • third-pillar (3a / 3b) annuity equivalents;
  • earned income (with statutory deductions);
  • imputed rental value if owner-occupier of a property;
  • assets above the threshold (taken into account at 1/10 above the threshold for non-property assets, 1/15 for housing).

The recognised expenditure side comprises :

  • subsistence minimum (CHF 20’100 single, CHF 30’150 couple, plus child amounts);
  • housing costs up to the cantonal maximum;
  • compulsory health insurance premium (LAMal);
  • specific allowances for disability, accommodation costs in homes.

PC = recognised expenditure − determining income (if positive).

Divestment — the long-arm look-back

The 2021 reform introduced strict divestment rules (LPC art. 11a). Gifts, sales below market value or deliberate impoverishment within the last 10 years before the PC claim are recomputed into the fortune as if they had been retained.

Operational consequences :

  • A donation to a child 7 years before the parent files a PC claim is added back to the fortune calculation.
  • A sale of a property to a relative below market value is recomputed at fair value.
  • The reincorporation is decreasing by CHF 10’000 per year after the gift, so it eventually falls away.

This rule is one of the most common reasons for PC refusals on first application.

Recovery from the estate (LPC art. 16a)

The 2021 reform also introduced recovery from the estate : at the death of a PC beneficiary, the PC paid during the last years are recovered from the estate, subject to :

  • a CHF 40’000 exemption on the estate’s net value;
  • a 10-year look-back for recovery.

Practical consequence: heirs of a PC beneficiary may find that the inheritance is partly absorbed by the recovery action. Anticipating this is part of estate planning.

Renewal and adjustment

PC are not awarded once for all. The SPC reviews the file periodically — typically every 12 to 24 months — and adjusts the amount based on income and fortune updates. The beneficiary must report material changes (inheritance received, change of housing, retirement contributions drawn).

Failure to declare can trigger restitution actions and even penalties.

Appeals

If the SPC refuses or reduces PC, the appeal chain is :

  1. Opposition to the SPC within 30 days.
  2. Appeal to the TAPI — Chambre des assurances sociales within 30 days of the SPC’s opposition decision.
  3. Appeal to the Federal Tribunal within 30 days.

Procedure before the TAPI is free in social-insurance matters.

Coordination with other benefits

  • AVS / AI pension — the basis of the calculation.
  • Subsidy of health insurance premiums — separate cantonal scheme, often combined.
  • Social welfare assistance — should never overlap with PC; the beneficiary moves between regimes depending on age and capacity.
  • Cantonal housing assistance — may complement PC depending on the housing situation.

What you receive

  • Pre-application audit of fortune, income and divestment risk.
  • Drafting of the application with supporting documents.
  • Coordination with AVS / AI claims in parallel.
  • Opposition to the SPC if needed.
  • Estate-planning review when the beneficiary has heirs.

First consultation CHF 50.

Discuss my PC application