Older and low-income earners win at the ballot box
Published: Monday, Mar 4th 2024, 09:20
Updated At: Monday, Mar 4th 2024, 09:20
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It was mainly people aged 65 and over and people on low incomes who voted yes to the 13th AHV pension. However, there were no significant gender differences or an urban-rural divide. The letter from the former Federal Councillors against the increase was not well received by many pensioners.
According to the post-election survey conducted by Tamedia and 20Minuten and published on Monday, the differences by age in the initiative for a 13th AHV pension were already evident in the preliminary surveys. Retired people were 78 percent in favor of the 13th AHV pension. Among young people under the age of 34, the figure was only 40 percent. From the age of 50 to 64, the approval rate was 68 percent.
Those who are most dependent on the AHV were clearly in favor of the 13th pension. For monthly incomes of up to CHF 4,000, the figure was 69%. At the same time, people with very high incomes of over CHF 16,000 rejected the AHV expansion with 39%. For incomes between 4,000 and 7,000 Swiss francs, the proportion in favor was 63 percent, and for incomes between 7001 and 10,000, it was 60 percent, according to the report.
Educational gap, but no gender differences
At 69%, the highest "yes" rate was among people who had completed compulsory schooling. According to the analysis, 52% of voters with a university or university of applied sciences degree were against the pension increase.
By contrast, there were hardly any gender differences. 59% of men and 57% of women voted in favor of the financial boost. According to the survey, there was also no evidence of an urban-rural divide. In the city, 61% voted yes, in the countryside and in the agglomeration 57%.
Broken down by party affiliation, the 'yes' vote was highest among voters from the SP (82%) and the Greens (70%). Although the SVP spoke out against the initiative, the grassroots supported it (55%). At 35%, approval was lowest among GLP voters, followed by supporters of the FDP (38%). In the center, 49% voted yes.
Letter from the former Federal Councillors was not well received
The lower the level of trust in the Federal Council, the higher the approval rating. The additional analysis showed that the letter sent out by the former Federal Councillors to pensioners in the run-up to the vote was not well received. According to this letter, voters were asked to put a "no" in the ballot box.
According to the survey, 83% found this campaign inappropriate or somewhat inappropriate and only 8% of Yes voters found it good or somewhat good. 39% believe that the letter helped the Yes camp, as former female federal councillors are not credible on this issue due to their financial situation.
Retirees in favor of a higher retirement age
In the case of the pension initiative, approval was highest among the over 65s at 34%, compared to 24% among 18 to 34-year-olds. Income differences were also evident here: for salaries of up to CHF 4,000, the 'yes' vote was 25%. Of the very high earners with over CHF 16,000 a month in their wallets, 40 percent said yes.
The lowest approval rate here was 21 percent among people with a vocational apprenticeship or a commercial diploma. Those with a university or university of applied sciences degree were in favor with 31 percent.
From February 29 to March 3, 30,384 people from all over Switzerland took part in the follow-up survey conducted by 20 Minuten and Tamedia on Sunday's federal votes. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Leewas. The margin of error is 1.6 percentage points.
©Keystone/SDA
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