Swiss pensioners to be compensated for inflation

Parliament wants to deal a fairer set of cards to Swiss pensioners. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Pensions in Switzerland should in future be topped up to fully account for the rising cost of consumer goods, parliament has agreed.

Parliament on Monday voted to modify the way payment adjustments are calculated from 2023.

Currently, top ups take both inflation and rising wages into account. From the start of next year at the latest, payments should focus purely on inflation.

The Senate has agreed with the House of Representatives that waiting for wage increases to come into effect would be too late to help pensioners who need pension top ups immediately.

The cost of goods and services rose 3.5% in August compared to the same month in 2021. While the rate of inflation is not as high as in other countries, parliament felt compelled to act to stave off the threat of some pensioners falling into poverty.

A nationwide vote on Sunday raised the retirement age of women from 64 to 65 in a bid to prop up the creaking state pension coffers.

But the vote is just one stage of an ongoing reform of the Swiss pension system, in part to iron out inequalities.