The Swiss are also facing pension reform. The country, whose aging population faces rising living costs, voted this Sunday on two important proposals for pensioners: a 13th month pension and an increase in the retirement age. According to projections by the Swiss media Le Temps and RTS, 75 percent of Swiss voted against the proposal to gradually increase the retirement age from 65 to 66 years. In contrast, 58% voted for a thirteenth month pension. This initiative is also accepted in the majority of cantons, which is a prerequisite for its adoption.
The Swiss Social Security monthly pension is capped at 2,450 Swiss francs (2,570 euros) for a single person and 3,675 francs for a married couple, in a country that regularly ranks among the most expensive in the world. In the city, the rent for a three-room apartment is at least 3,000 francs (3,150 euros). A coffee costs more than five francs. If the Swiss give the green light to this change, they won't be the first in Europe: neighboring Liechtenstein, another expensive country that uses the Swiss franc, introduced a similar system several years ago.
“A crisis of purchasing power”
“Like everywhere else, there is a purchasing power crisis in Switzerland. “The standard of living of pensioners is falling,” explains Pierre-Yves Maillard, President of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), who campaigned for the “yes” vote. Pensioner Jakob Hauri, quoted by the Yes campaign, is of the same opinion: “The cost of living is exploding,” and the pension fund, “which is supposed to guarantee the subsistence level, cannot keep up.” Left-wing parties supported the initiative, but it faced strong opposition from right-wing and centrist parties. The government and parliament were also against it.
The government had claimed that the proposed increase would cost more than four billion francs a year and warned that it would require tax increases and could threaten the financial stability of the social security system. He also estimated that the proposed change would bring limited social benefits to all retirees, regardless of their financial situation. “If the initiative is adopted, many retirees will receive a 13th Social Security payment, even if they do not really need it,” the federal authorities argued.
The UDC, the country's radical right and leading party, had warned that this “irresponsible” initiative would allow free riders to exploit the system. This party campaigned for the No vote through advertisements, including one that showed 100-franc notes sucked down a shaft.
A majority of the 26 cantons
Arguments that bore fruit: In the most recent survey by gfs.bern for the public broadcaster SSR, 53% of respondents said they supported the initiative, 43% were against it, and a month earlier 61% of respondents were in favor. To be valid, the initiative must not only win the popular vote, but also a majority in at least half of Switzerland's 26 cantons.
Voters also approved a proposal from the Liberal Party's youth wing to gradually raise the retirement age from 65 to 66 over the next decade to ensure the sustainability of funding for the pension system. This vote came less than two years after Swiss voters narrowly decided to raise the retirement age from 64 to 65 for both women and men. Most people voted in advance in the country's regular elections.