Thanks to a new law, a Swiss man was able to change to officially change his gender so he could retire and receive his pension a year earlier.

On January 1st, 2022, a new law came into effect in Switzerland, one that allows any Swiss resident with the “intimate conviction” that they do not belong to the sex they are registered as in the civil status register to change their gender as well as their first name, for just 75 francs ($81.50). Technically, there are supposed to be regulations preventing individuals from taking advantage of the new rules for nefarious purposes, but in reality, civil servants have “no obligation to verify the intimate conviction of the persons concerned,” and usually assume that they are acting in good faith. Sadly, that’s not always the case…

Photo: Romain Dancre/Unsplash

According to the Swiss newspaper Luzerner Zeitung, it only took four days for someone to take advantage of the new law for financial gain. In Switzerland, women can legally retire at age 64, a year earlier than men, so an elderly man realized the opportunity to retire and receive a pension earlier, so he decided to go for it. The unnamed man allegedly bragged about his achievement, admitting that it was motivated solely by financial reasons, not because he actually identified as a woman.

Interestingly, concerns regarding this exact possibility were expressed in November of 2021, by Michel Montini of the Federal Office of Justice, who warned that “men could declare themselves women just before retirement and leave their jobs a year earlier”. And that’s exactly what happened.

After news of this feat went viral online, people started identifying other flaws of the law, including the possibility of young men bypassing mandatory military service by legally changing their gender. Basically, they can change their gender on paper at age 17, and then, earlier on in life just revert back to officially being a man.

The Luzerner Zeitung has submitted the case to a civil status official, but until a judge decides whether a man close to retirement age shows up in an office of civil status to request a change of sex is acting in a “manifestly abusive” manner, any Swiss resident is free to change their gender any way they like.