The ProLitteris Welfare Foundation provides you with financial support in certain life situations if you are a cooperative member.

It provides two core benefits:

• Retirement pensions
• Emergency assistance

The retirement pension is based on fixed rules in accordance with the regulations of the Welfare Foundation.

Emergency assistance is assessed on an individual basis. Depending on your financial situation, the foundation board decides whether support is possible and to what extent.

Benefits from the ProLitteris Welfare Foundation can only be received by members of the cooperative.

For you, this means:

• You must be a copyright holder and at the same time a cooperative member of ProLitteris. A rights administration agreement is not sufficient.
• After reaching retirement age, you can receive an old-age pension, provided you can prove a low income.
• You can submit an application for financial support at any time.

For emergency aid, the foundation reviews your application and decides on the support based on your personal financial situation.

There is no right to emergency assistance.

Whether you receive support is decided by the foundation board on a case-by-case basis. The basis is your financial situation.

Please use the form for an application. Contact our Team Social.

You can submit an application to the Welfare Foundation by email.

For you, this means:

• You address your application to the Welfare Foundation
• if you wish, you will receive a form from ProLitteris

The foundation board reviews applications at its meetings in the following months:

• April
• June
• September
• December

In urgent cases, immediate assistance can also be decided outside these dates.

You can submit an emergency aid request if you are a member of ProLitteris and are in a serious financial emergency.

For you, this means:

• You must be a cooperative member of ProLitteris
• Your financial situation must make support necessary

Emergency aid is generally granted as a one-time contribution. It is intended to cover specific costs and can amount to up to several thousand Swiss francs.

To apply for emergency aid, you must present your financial situation transparently using the relevant form.

This includes in particular:

• your current financial hardship, for example with invoices or estimates
• the reason for the situation, that is, cause and context
• the specific impact on your financial situation today and in the near future

In addition, you provide information about your economic circumstances:

• tax assessment
• income and assets
• budget and ongoing obligations
• special circumstances such as health, age, or debts

The Welfare Foundation may, if necessary, consult specialists in order to assess your situation more accurately.

Important for you: Emergency aid serves to provide personal support and not to promote works, projects, or events.

You have a right to an old-age pension from the Provident Foundation if you meet several conditions.

The following applies to you:

• You have reached the AHV reference age
• You have been a cooperative member of ProLitteris without interruption for at least ten years
• You became a member no later than at the age of 60

In addition, the following must apply:

• Your royalties from ProLitteris reach a defined minimum amount
• Your taxable income is below a defined upper limit

The exact amounts are determined by the foundation board. They are documented in the regulations of the Provident Foundation.

Whether you have a right to a retirement pension depends on two central factors:

• Your taxable income
• the sum of your royalties from ProLitteris over your entire membership

For you, this means: All royalties that you have received over the years are decisive, regardless of the area, for example from Print, Online, Broadcast, Audio, Art or international distributions.

You can obtain the current status of these royalties from ProLitteris (Team Social).

Important: You do not have to calculate the entitlement yourself or actively apply for it. ProLitteris automatically checks the requirements and contacts you if a retirement pension is possible.

The status as of 31. December before the pension year is decisive in each case.

The retirement pension is calculated annually by ProLitteris and only arises with this calculation.

Two factors are decisive for you:

• the total amount of your royalties from ProLitteris during your entire membership
• your taxable income

The relevant status is always as of 31 December before the pension year.

The following applies as proof of your taxable income:

• you must submit this on time, at the latest by 31 December
• submission is by email or by post
• the basis is the legally binding tax assessment

ProLitteris generally informs you in good time if you are eligible for a retirement pension. However, it is your responsibility to comply with the deadline and the required form.

The exact requirements and details are set out in the regulations of the Pension Fund.

ProLitteris actively checks for you whether there is a right to an old-age pension.

For this purpose, you usually receive a request from Team Social in October. This is sent:

• by email
• or, in exceptional cases, by letter

to the contact address stored in the profile.

For you, this means: ProLitteris initiates the clarification and informs you in good time when a possible entitlement is being checked.