Fewer people are able to save money in Switzerland

Financial worries are growing: every second Swiss person is unable to save Keystone-SDA

A good half of the Swiss population has been unable to put any money aside in the last six months – despite a strong desire to save. At the same time, there is often a gap between financial knowledge, the intention to save and actual realisation.

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Although 79% of Swiss people consider saving to be important, only around one in two people (47%) were actually able to put money aside in the past six months. These are the findings of a survey published on Thursday by Baloise and the market research institute YouGov Switzerland. High fixed costs were cited particularly frequently as an obstacle.

Meanwhile, almost every second person who saves manages to put aside up to CHF1,000 per month. The need for security is at the forefront of this. Respondents most frequently want to save in order to prepare for unforeseen expenses. The under-30s also put aside significantly more money than other age groups for the purchase of residential property.

Uncertainty on the rise

Another frequently cited reason for saving is early retirement. Over half of those surveyed would like to retire earlier, but rarely plan to do so. Only 11% said they were actively working towards this. Meanwhile, a third consider it unrealistic to be able to afford early retirement.

Today, more than half of the Swiss (57%) feel comfortable in their financial situation – more than the number of those who have been able to build up reserves. However, the outlook for the future is bleak: only 44% are confident about their financial situation in the long term. Respondents are most unsettled by uncertainties in the pension system and inadequate pensions or pension gaps.

Lack of financial knowledge

Many also feel inadequately prepared for the future. Some 60% rate their own knowledge of financial matters as mediocre at best. The majority therefore call for financial education to begin at school. According to the study, knowledge is currently mainly imparted by family, friends or advisors.

A total of 2,032 people aged 15 to 79 from all over Switzerland were interviewed for the representative survey conducted by Baloise in collaboration with YouGov in 2025.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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