{"id":1926,"date":"2018-12-05T11:42:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T10:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aza.ch.lucius.ch-meta.net\/aza\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T09:41:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T08:41:28","slug":"aza","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/aza\/","title":{"rendered":"The AZA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Ausgleichskasse Z\u00fcrcher Arbeitgeber (AZA) was founded at the time when the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (AHV) came into force in 1948. It is a legal person under public law and is subject to the control and supervision of the federal government. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The private <strong>Familienausgleichskasse Z\u00fcrcher Arbeitgeber (FZA)<\/strong> was founded as an affiliation within the meaning of Art. 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code upon the introduction of the Zurich Child Allowance Act in 1959. It also implements the regulations on family allowances for the organizations belonging to the AZA. Since 2009 the FZA has been recognized in all cantons and implements the regulations on allowances in all 26 cantons. The AZA and the FZA are operated by the same team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"character\"><strong>Character<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a not-for-profit service provider, we exist solely for the benefit of our customers: our member companies, the persons entitled to benefits, and policyholders. We aim to act as a sympathetic, helpful partner and offer a competent, practical service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The e-business platform <a href=\"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/connect\/\">\u00abconnect\u00bb<\/a> enables our member companies to process all business cases paperlessly, thus offering a real administrative saving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AZA is of manageable size, having 36 employees. Our communication channels are short and direct. We have several expert contact persons for each specialist area, and can thus offer individual advice and straightforward transaction processing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AZA is a member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vvak.ch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Schweizerische Vereinigung der Verbandsausgleichskassen<\/a> (the Swiss Union of Compensation Fund Associations) (VVAK). Its members are the only non-governmental specialists in implementing the First Pillar. As private-sector, independent and neutral service providers, they guarantee a high level of reliability in processing social insurances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The compensation fund affiliations, together with the cantonal compensation offices, ensure the decentralized implementation of AHV, as enshrined in the Swiss Constitution, and of the related social insurances such as IV, LEC and family allowances. This model is laid down in accordance with the Constitution and has proved its worth for the past 70 years. It is accessible to citizens, flexible, easily run, and supports efficient and competitively priced implementation. The compensation offices are typical non-profit organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tasks\">Tasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The AZA carries out the following social welfare and delegated tasks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list o-list--ul\">\n<li> <strong>AHV and IV<\/strong> (known as the First Pillar) <br>Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, Invalidity Insurance <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <strong>LEC<\/strong> (Loss of Earnings Compensation) <br>Loss of earnings compensation for military, civilian or civil defence service, Youth + Sports and similar, as well as maternity and paternity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <strong>MSV-GE\/AMat-GE<\/strong><br>Genfer Mutterschaftsversicherung\/Assurance-maternit\u00e9 genevoise (Geneva maternity insur-ance scheme) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <strong>ALV<\/strong><br>Unemployment Insurance (collection of contributions) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <strong>FAK<\/strong> (Family Allowances Office) <br>Implementation of the family allowance regulations for all cantons <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>accessory social welfare<\/strong> schemes delegated to the offices by the cantons, such as the VET\/PET (vocational and professional education and training) fund, family funds etc. (collec-tion of contributions) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li> <strong>Employer inspections<\/strong> for mandatory occupational pensions and accident insurance (OPA and AIA) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Redistribution of <strong>CO<sub>2<\/sub> levies<\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"oversight\">Oversight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The founding organization and thus the body responsible for the AZA and the FZA is the Association of Employer Organizations in Zurich (VZA). As the umbrella organization for employers in Zurich, the VZA unites four sub-groups<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list o-list--ul\">\n<li><a aria-label=\"Arbeitgeber Z\u00fcrich VZH (\u00f6ffnet in neuem Tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vzh.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arbeitgeber Z\u00fcrich VZH<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Z\u00fcrcher Bankenverband (<a aria-label=\" (\u00f6ffnet in neuem Tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/zuercher-bankenverband.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ZBV<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>KMU- und Gewerbeverband Kanton Z\u00fcrich (<a aria-label=\" (\u00f6ffnet in neuem Tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kgv.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KGV<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vereinigung Z\u00fcrcherischer Arbeitgeberverb\u00e4nde der Industrie (<a aria-label=\" (\u00f6ffnet in neuem Tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vzai.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VZAI<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The boards of the AZA and the FZA are composed of delegates from these four organizations. Their competencies, responsibility and functions are similar to those of a board of directors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list o-list--ul\">\n<li><strong>Christian Bretscher,<\/strong> lic.iur. (chairman)<br>General Manager and representative of ZBV&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Philipp Marti<\/strong>, lic.oec. HSG (vice chairman)<br>Chairman and representative of Arbeitgeber Z\u00fcrich VZH&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Thomas Hess,<\/strong> lic.phil. (member)<br>General Manager and representative of KGV Z\u00fcrich<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Christian M\u00fcller<\/strong> (member)<br>Chairman and representative of VZAI<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Daphne Rich<\/strong>, Dr.rer.oec. (member)<br>Head Human Resources and representative of Arbeitgeber Z\u00fcrich VZH<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"our-vision-mission\">Our vision \/ mission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list o-list--ul\">\n<li><strong>Focused on our customers <\/strong>&#8211; We work as a trusted, approachable partner, delivering practical, expert support to member companies, beneficiaries and insured individuals, providing added value that genuinely makes a difference.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A strong position for our founders <\/strong>&#8211; Our services offer a clear and compelling reason to join the member associations of the Association of Zurich Employers\u2019 Organisations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stronger together<\/strong> &#8211; We invest in our people, encouraging them to excel, both individually and as part of a high-performing team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Effective and efficient<\/strong> &#8211; We keep our organisation lean and our processes straightforward, with a personal approach.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"membership\">Membership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The rules regarding which compensation office handles invoices for AHV are set forth in the AHV legislation and leave little room for manoeuvre. In principle, the AZA is open to all self-employed persons and employers who are members of the four associated organizations: <a aria-label=\"Arbeitgeber Z\u00fcrich VZH (\u00f6ffnet in neuem Tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vzh.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arbeitgeber Z\u00fcrich VZH<\/a>, the Zurich Banking Association (<a href=\"https:\/\/zuercher-bankenverband.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ZBV<\/a>), the SME and Trade Association of the Canton of Zurich (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgv.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KGV<\/a>) and the Federation of Zurich Industrial Employers\u2019 Associations (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.vzai.ch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VZAI<\/a>). The legal followon regulations state that the affiliation members must settle their obligations regarding AHV\u00b7IV\u00b7LEC, ALV, FAK and other social welfare benefits through us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a company is a member of more than one of the founding organizations for compensation offices, it is free to choose which one to use. In the absence of such membership, the cantonal compensation office must be used.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ausgleichskasse Z\u00fcrcher Arbeitgeber (AZA) was founded at the time when the Federal Act on Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (AHV)\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":17,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1926","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1926\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aza.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}