Will Swiss voters agree to boost pensions?

The Swiss are voting on March 3 on two initiatives aimed at reshaping pensioners' lives. KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

The Swiss will vote this Sunday on two people’s initiatives aimed at reforming the pension system. A proposal to gradually raise the statutory retirement age to 66 looks set to fail, while a separate initiative to raise pension payments looks like a close vote.

Opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s vote indicated that a majority of Swiss voters backed the “Better living in retirement” initiativeExternal link. But support for the proposal, which seeks to grant retired people an extra – or 13th – monthly payment of the old-age and survivors’ insurance (OASI) pension, has dwindled during the campaign.

In the latest poll by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), carried out in early February, 53% of respondents said they supported the initiative, which was launched by the trade unions to help pensioners keep up with rising costs in the pricey Alpine nation. While the “yes” camp still held a lead ahead of the vote, this may not be enough for it to pass.

In addition to a majority of votes from individuals, the initiative must also be approved by a majority of the cantons. This means that 12 out of 23 cantons must accept it – which could also prove difficult, as in early February five cantons were still wavering.

Helping pensioners that really need it

The initiative, launched by the Swiss Trade Union Federation and backed by left-of-centre parties, aims to help retired people who are struggling to make ends meet in the face of inflation and rising living costs. The campaign has also given many senior citizens an opportunity to talk about their financial difficulties.

>> Read the stories of four Swiss nationals who have retired abroad:

The initiative, launched by the Swiss Trade Union Federation and backed by left-of-centre parties, aims to help retired people who are struggling to make ends meet in the face of inflation and rising living costs. The campaign has also given many senior citizens an opportunity to talk about their financial difficulties.

The plan calls for the introduction of a 13th monthly payment per year, instead of the current 12. The maximum annual old-age pension would thus increase by CHF2,450 ($2,783) for individuals, to CHF31,850, and by CHF3,675 for couples to CHF47,775.

One size does not fit all

The proposed reform does not find favour, however, with the right-wing and centre parties, or the country’s main business groups. The extra pension payment would be financed, they argue, at the expense of the working population, through higher social security contributions or taxes.

The initiative’s opponents also believe that the measure does not sufficiently target those who are truly experiencing financial hardship. Pensions, they say, would increase according to a one-size-fits-all approach, with high-income earners also benefiting.

Swiss Abroad singled out

Swiss pensioners living abroad came under harsh criticism from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party during the campaign. Switzerland’s largest party accused the Swiss Abroad of milking the Swiss pension system, while benefiting from lower living costs in their host countries.

People’s Party parliamentarian Martina Bircher declared in the press that “foreigners and Swiss Abroad would be the first to benefit from a 13th pension payment”, whereas they would not contribute to the additional costs through value-added tax (VAT) or employee contributions.

These comments sparked reactions from Swiss retirees abroad, some of whom set up a Facebook group to protest at “a smear campaign” against them.

Ariane Rustichelli, director of the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA), expressed concern for the 800,000 Swiss living outside the country’s borders. “It is a very worrying fact that some Swiss are angry with their compatriots,” she told SWI swissinfo.ch.

>> What the 13th pension payment is all about:

Retirement at 66 slated to fail

The fate of the other initiative being put to the vote on Sunday is already all but sealed. The proposal, launched by the young Radical-Liberals, involves raising the retirement age gradually to 66 by 2033, as a first step. After that, it would be pegged to life expectancy – that is, it would go up automatically as life expectancy increases.

The aim of the initiative – called “For a Secure and Sustainable Old-Age Pension Scheme” – is to put the financing of the Swiss pension system on a sounder footing. According to calculations by the Federal Social Insurance Office, it would save around CHF2 billion between now and 2030 and ensure pension funding until at least 2033.

>> The vote on retirement at 66 in a nutshell:

Tough job market for older workers

Despite support from the right-wing parties, the solution put forward by the young Radical-Liberals does not seem to have won over a majority of the electorate. The “no” camp has grown steadily during the campaign, and 63% of those questioned planned to vote against the text, according to the latest SBC poll.

Opponents – mainly on the left and in the centre of the political spectrum – have denounced it as “anti-social, technocratic and anti-democratic”, and “ill-suited for reforming old-age provision”.

The “no” side mainly accuses the text’s backers of ignoring the reality experienced by senior citizens on Switzerland’s job market. People over 55 already have difficulty finding a job when they become unemployed, they point out.

The vote on retirement at 66 comes just over a year after the Swiss agreed to bring the retirement age for women into line with that for men, raising it from 64 to 65. This timing does not work in the initiative’s favour.

Edited by Pauline Turuban/adapted from French by Julia Bassam/sb