Swiss have more spare cash, and desire to save

Swiss households have more disposable income than ever before. Keystone / Christian Beutler

Swiss households have never been so financially secure. In 2025, adjusted disposable income per capita exceeded CHF65,000 ($80,855) for the first time and the voluntary savings rate surpassed 19%, according to data published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Over the past 30 years, adjusted disposable income per capita in Switzerland has grown steadily, and an ever-increasing share of these resources is allocated to voluntary savings.

This represents a national average and should not obscure the differences between regions, income brackets and household types. The rising costs of housing, health insurance premiums and other mandatory expenses continue to weigh heavily on many households. Significant disparities remain between regions and social classes.

+ Switzerland’s super-rich: essential contributors or social threat?

However, when considering the whole population, the long-term trend becomes clear.

In 2025, adjusted disposable income per capita reached CHF65,124, the highest level in the entire FSO statistical series. After adjusting for inflation, this represents an increase of nearly 36% compared to 1995, when disposable income stood at CHF40,083.

The average purchasing power of Swiss citizens is therefore significantly higher than it was a generation ago.

While in many countries rising incomes primarily translate into increased consumption, in Switzerland a growing share of resources is being set aside. In 2025, the overall savings rate of adjusted gross disposable income reached 27.4%, compared to 19.6% in 1995.

Savings frenzy

More than a quarter of household resources are used to build up financial reserves.

The increase in voluntary savings is significant. This represents the portion remaining after accounting for not only consumption but also mandatory deductions from wages related to the pension system.

In 2025, these reserves reached 19.3% of adjusted gross disposable income for the first time, nearly double the 9.7% recorded 30 years earlier. This is the highest value ever recorded by federal statisticians.

Converted into francs, this means that on average, a person residing in Switzerland in 2025 will have saved nearly CHF18,000, of which approximately CHF12,600 are in the form of voluntary savings.

After a relatively stable period between the late 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, the propensity to save began to gradually increase. The turning point came during the Covid-19 pandemic, when restrictions on consumption led to a surge in household savings.

Covid impact

Many observers expected a return to previous levels once the health crisis was over. But the opposite happened as savings remained at a high level.

Not only are Swiss households earning more, but they also have greater resources to build wealth, cope with unexpected events, and plan for the future. The improvement in well-being appears to be more pronounced than income increases alone would suggest.

Looking at the overall trend over the last three decades, the message from the data is clear. After financial crises, recessions, geopolitical tensions, and a pandemic, Swiss households have the highest disposable income in their recent history and an unprecedented capacity to save.

Translated from German, sub-edited by Matthew Allen/sb