The annual account compares the contributions (OASI·IV·LEC, ALV, FAK etc.) actually owed, based on the salary notified by the employer, with the contributions invoiced during the year. If a late payment has to be made, this may incur default interest, which in many cases has not been taken into account.
This kind of unpleasant surprise can however be avoided by paying attention to the following two points:
The Ordinance on the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance states that the Compensation Office must receive the salary notification by no later than 30 January of the following year;otherwise, default interest will be levied on late contributions. The default interest is charged from 1 January in all cases.
The above-mentioned ordinance also states the following in respect of the payment deadline: Payment must be made within 30 days, starting 1 day after the date of invoice (irrespective of whether the annual account has actually been delivered).
The interest rate is 5% per year; it also applies in the reverse case, i.e. if the annual account shows that contributions are due to be repaid and the Compensation Office does not make the repayment within 30 days of receipt of the (complete) salary notification.
These provisions are binding on the Compensation Offices, which means that there is unfortunately no room for goodwill gestures.