Relief after anger: how the Swiss Abroad view the pension vote

The 13th pension payment will be a welcome boost for many Swiss Abroad. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / Gian Ehrenzeller

Swiss citizens who live abroad are delighted with the result of the national vote on Sunday, in which a 13th monthly pension payment was approved. However, concerns about financing also led to some of them voting no.

In a historic result on March 3, 58.2% of the electorate backed, for the first time, a trade union and left-wing initiative calling for the expansion of social welfare programmes.

The campaign was extremely emotional. The Swiss Abroad became a target of opponents of the initiative and were accused of being profiteers, of enjoying “luxury pensions” and of milking the system.

Now the increased pension has been accepted and the Swiss Abroad are very happy and relieved. “The result is perfect because a signal has been given for an improvement for underprivileged fellow citizens,” writes Henry Roth at SwissCommunity, the network of the Swiss Abroad.

“I think it’s great that a majority of Swiss voters and cantons weren’t impressed by a multimillion-franc counter-campaign and helped the issue of a modest expansion of the pension scheme achieve a breakthrough at the ballot box,” writes a Swiss citizen living in Italy.

Swiss people abroad are also rejoicing on social media. “Just happy, hooray”, said one user in the Swiss Abroad group on Facebook.

‘Victory for solidarity’

A look at the voting behaviour of the Swiss Abroad shows that they voted slightly more strongly in favour of the 13th pension payment than Swiss residents: 65.3% were in favour of the initiative.

“In our opinion this can be explained by the fact that more and more people of retirement age are moving abroad in order to lead a dignified life there,” Ariane Rustichelli, president of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), told SWI swissinfo.ch.

The winners see the result of the vote as a “victory for solidarity”. Political scientists also calculated that it took more than pensioners’ votes to pass the initiative. In the spirit of redistribution, the mechanism on which the pension system is based, working people also voted in favour of a 13th pension payment.

“I think it’s good. Even though I’m not of retirement age,” writes Gabriele Geyer on Facebook. “Those who are now of retirement age have helped to ensure that Switzerland is generally doing well.”

In the Facebook group of Swiss Abroad in Canada, a user writes: “I’m very happy with the result, even though I’m not yet retired.”

One person who followed the voting debate very closely was Josef Schnyder, vice-president of the Swiss Society in Bangkok and a member of the Council of the Swiss Abroad. Media reports about Swiss nationals allegedly living abroad in luxury caused a stir in expat Facebook groups.

The acceptance is a positive signal, Schnyder says. “I’m happy for everyone helped by the 13th pension payment,” he told SWI swissinfo.ch. “I think the result is a sign that there’s a certain amount of discontent. Because of inflation, pensioners have less and less money, while billions are being spent on rescuing Credit Suisse.”

Schnyder says he doesn’t need the 13th pension payment himself, but he voted in favour of it anyway.

Letter from government ministers

The pensioners in Thailand were also concerned about the late arrival of the voting documents. “Many of them wanted to vote but couldn’t. That hurt twice as much this time,” Schnyder says. “Fortunately it was still enough.”

It was not only the negative media reports about the Swiss Abroad that were discussed in Thailand, but also the letter from several former government ministers in which they warned against the 13th pension payment and called for it to be rejected. “The letter from the former government ministers was very badly received here,” Schnyder says. “They receive more than CHF200,000 ($225,000) a year in pensions, while there are many Swiss people living in Thailand who have emigrated for financial reasons.”

Iris Weber, a Swiss living in Germany, was also annoyed by the letter. She voted no anyway. “That probably makes me one of the few abroad [who voted no],” she says. And she is not one of those who don’t need a 13th pension payment. Weber lives with her husband in modest circumstances; they only eat out when it’s someone’s birthday. “I voted no because I don’t want to burden young people with the costs,” she says. She is now very much hoping for a good financing solution that doesn’t place too great a burden on the middle classes.

Swiss Abroad Leonardo Carena also decided to reject the initiative. He writes on Swiss Community that he doesn’t want to benefit from something for which he has not worked and doesn’t have to pay in arrears while living abroad. He says he learnt from the media that there are people in Switzerland who are struggling with the rising cost of living. “I don’t begrudge them the 13th pension payment, but not us free riders who have emigrated.”

One Swiss Abroad on SwissCommunity voted no because he doesn’t want to upset the balance of the pension scheme. “If you give something on the one hand, you have to take it back on the other.”

Fly home

Rustichelli also suspects that the financing of the 13th pension payment is a concern for the Swiss Abroad. The second vote on Sunday, to increase in the retirement age from 65 to 66, was also met with greater approval abroad than in Switzerland, although ultimately it was roundly rejected. “It could be assumed that supporting work until 66 is the solution to financing the pension system for some,” she said.

In addition to funding, the timeline is also an issue for Swiss citizens abroad. “It’s incredible that the government doesn’t want to implement this decision until 2026,” writes one French-speaking Swiss Abroad on SwissCommunity. “Why wait until December 2026?” asks another.

Nobody is complaining about an additional pension. While for some it doesn’t play a major role financially, for many it is a welcome boost. “For example, to fly home again and visit relatives,” says Josef Schnyder.

Iris Weber could also imagine investing the extra money in a short holiday. “If there’s anything left over after taxes and inflation.”

Edited by Marc Leutenegger. Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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