The Basellandschaftliche Pensionskasse

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The neighbouring canton followed a similar but distinct path. The Basellandschaftliche Pensionskasse (BLPK) insures the employees of the canton of Basel-Landschaft, of most of its municipalities and of a number of affiliated institutions, including schools, hospitals and utilities. Its structure differs from that of the PKBS because it operates as a collective institution in which each affiliated employer forms its own pension fund within the BLPK, with its own coverage ratio. This structure allows employers to choose different plans while sharing administration and investment.¹

The decisive reform took place in the years leading up to 2015. Voters of Basel-Landschaft approved a reform package that changed the BLPK from the defined-benefit to the defined-contribution principle with effect from 1 January 2015, provided for the full funding of the institution and allocated the costs of recapitalisation among the canton, the municipalities and the insured persons. The canton assumed the largest share of the financing gap, which amounted to more than a billion francs.² The reform burdened the cantonal budget for years, because the canton financed its contribution partly through debt. It became one of the factors behind the difficult financial situation that Basel-Landschaft faced in the second half of the 2010s.

After the reform, the BLPK lowered its technical interest rate and its conversion rates in several steps, as did most institutions in Switzerland. It invests in Swiss and foreign securities and in real estate in the region and has published a policy on responsible investment that addresses the exercise of voting rights and the integration of environmental and social criteria.³ The two cantonal funds of the region are therefore comparable in their current principles, although they reached them through different political processes and with different financial consequences for their sponsoring cantons.

Notes

1. On the structure of the Basellandschaftliche Pensionskasse (BLPK) as a collective institution with separate pension funds (Vorsorgewerke) for affiliated employers, see its regulations and annual reports. To be verified. ↩
2. On the reform of the BLPK, approved in a cantonal popular vote, the change to the defined-contribution principle on 1 January 2015, the full funding of the institution and the allocation of the costs among canton, municipalities and insured persons, see the cantonal legislation of Basel-Landschaft, the explanations for the popular vote and the annual reports of the BLPK. Date of the vote and amounts to be verified. ↩
3. On the subsequent reductions of the technical interest rate and conversion rates of the BLPK and its policy on responsible investment and voting, see the annual reports and the investment regulations of the BLPK. To be verified. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.