Smaller reforms on pensions are needed, says Swiss minister

Baume-Schneider pleads for smaller reform steps after BVG rejection Keystone-SDA

Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider does not want to stick with the status quo after the resounding “No” to the pension fund reform on Sunday. Occupational pension provision must be adapted through small steps, she said.

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“We now have to set priorities,” Baume-Schneider told the media in Bern on the evening of Sunday’s vote. Smaller reform steps are less complex, more transparent and could convince a majority. “We can see that major reforms are not successful.”

For the federal government, the situation of people with low incomes is paramount. Many women will continue to receive only a small pension or none at all from the occupational pension scheme. The lowering of the entry threshold and the adjustment to the coordination deduction planned as part of the occupational pension reform have been dropped. These issues must be resolved soon.

Challenges remain

Baume-Schneider listed various possible reasons for the resounding “No” vote. Various measures had been linked together, and the proponents were not united in their support for the reform. Ultimately, there was a great deal of uncertainty about what consequences the reform would have had for each individual.

However, doing nothing was not an option for the federal government. “The challenges in the second pillar remain,” she said. The conversion rate in particular is a problem for many pension funds. However, the population wants more transparency about the effects of reforms.

Baume-Schneider announced that she would be calling on key players to assume responsibilities for moving reform forward. “We need to adapt the system to new circumstances.”

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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