The 13th AHV pension is approved with around 58 percent of the vote
Published: Sunday, Mar 3rd 2024, 18:31
Updated At: Sunday, Mar 3rd 2024, 18:31
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Switzerland has experienced something unprecedented. For the first time, the people and cantons have approved an expansion of the AHV with a popular initiative, specifically a 13th AHV pension. Now the tug-of-war begins over the financing of the pension supplement.
The popular initiative "For a better life in old age (initiative for a 13th AHV pension)" was backed by trade unions and left-wing parties. It calls for thirteen AHV pensions to be paid annually from 2026 instead of twelve. Around 2.5 million pensioners will be affected.
The vote was clear: around 1,883,500 voters supported the 13th AHV pension and around 1,350,300 rejected it. The "yes" percentage was 58.2 percent. 16 of the 26 cantons voted in favor. The voter turnout was 58.3 percent.
The highest "yes" percentages came from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. Jura came out on top with 82.5 percent of votes in favor. Of the German-speaking cantons, it was Basel-Stadt with 64.5 percent in favor. Zurich and Bern also voted in favor of the 13th AHV pension. Cantons in central and eastern Switzerland voted against.
8.3 percent more pension
The initiative demands that all pensioners receive a supplement amounting to one twelfth of their annual pension; this will be 8.3 percent higher than today. Anyone already drawing an AHV pension should receive the supplement from the start of 2026 at the latest. "As quickly as possible", writes the trade union federation on implementation.
The Federal Council and Parliament will now have to think about how the "thirteenth" should be financed. The text of the initiative does not make any specifications in this regard. This marks the start of the tug-of-war over the financing of higher pensions. Opinions on this are divided.
The Federal Council wants to get to work immediately to implement the initiative on time, announced Social Affairs Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider to the media after the votes were counted in Bern. The Federal Council should be able to make its first decisions on financing the AHV fund before the end of this year.
According to the Federal Council, the AHV will have to pay an additional CHF 4.1 billion in the year the higher pensions are introduced and the federal government will have to contribute CHF 800 million from 2026, as Baume-Schneider explained. In view of the financial situation, the federal government will have to find a solution to compensate for this amount.
No to more taxes and duties
The conservative parties that lost the vote reject additional taxes and levies. They believe that the AHV needs structural reforms. The FDP is no longer prepared to increase taxes and levies so that the AHV does not slide into the red, the party wrote.
Many supporters argued that the federal government had money for everything but its own population, wrote the SVP. It called for savings in asylum, development aid and aid to Ukraine.
The Center Party drew attention to the fact that discrimination against married couples compared to cohabiting couples continues, with married couples only receiving one and a half times the AHV pension. The party intends to submit a popular initiative at the end of March to abolish this "marriage penalty". The EPP called for a national inheritance tax on large inheritances.
Historic success
The supporters were delighted with the historic success. Never before has a popular initiative to expand the AHV been approved.
The SP wrote that the strong support of the population for a socially financed pension scheme strengthens the SP in its fight against the announced pension cuts as part of the pension fund reform. The Yes vote is also a mandate to parliament to protect people's purchasing power with concrete measures.
The Greens see the Yes vote as a red card to the conservative parties. They should question their plans to cut occupational pension reform and child and widow's pensions.
The voting campaign was emotional. Every vote was fought for until the very end. Around CHF 6 million was budgeted for campaigns; the "no" camp had therefore clearly spent more than the "for" side. Several former Federal Councillors were involved with both opponents and supporters.
©Keystone/SDA
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