A Swiss man reportedly exploited a loophole in the country's new simplified sex-change legislation and registered as a woman so that he could become eligible for a lavish pension a year earlier.
Starting from January 1, a ten-minute-long interview and a payment of 75 Swiss francs (about $80) is enough for a person in Switzerland to change their sex on paper. Such procedures as a physical examination and hormonal testing have been eliminated.
One citizen, a man from the canton of Lucerne in the German-speaking central part of the country, saw this as a good opportunity to profit, the local Luzerner Zeitung reported.
In the wealthy Alpine state, the retirement age for men is 65 years, compared to 64 for women, and the pensions are really high, varying from 13,480 euro (about $15to nearly 27,000 annually.
The as-yet-unnamed person apparently decided not to wait another year for the money, by simply going and registering as a female with the authorities.
The sex change only occurred on paper, with the claimant later confirming to family and friends that it was done only to speed up the retirement, according to media.
There have so far been no reports of the authorities in Lucerne planning to challenge this reported application.
However, the reportedly isolated incident has pointed to significant flaws in the sex-change rules. The local media have swiftly come up with several other scenarios, in which they can also be exploited by the country’s male population.
The young men could register as women to avoid military service, as it’s only compulsory for men in the country. Widowers could also tend to turn into widows to receive the higher compensations that women in Switzerland are entitled to.