Initiative committee for a 13th AHV pension launches referendum campaign
Published: Tuesday, Jan 9th 2024, 12:10
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On March 3, Switzerland will vote on the introduction of a 13th AHV pension. The committee behind the popular initiative for a 13th AHV pension has launched its campaign. It justifies its demand with the rising cost of living and speaks of a favorable pension increase for employees.
The initiative "For a better life in old age (initiative for a 13th AHV pension)" wants AHV recipients to be entitled to a "thirteenth". This would be an annual supplement amounting to one twelfth of their annual pension. Since 2021, inflation and health insurance premiums have eroded a monthly pension.
"Not a luxury"
People who have worked all their lives are affected, said Pierre-Yves Maillard, member of the Vaud SP Council of States and President of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), speaking to the media in Bern on Tuesday. In view of the rising cost of living, they no longer knew what to do.
He gave the example of a nurse, a single mother of two children. With her pension, she has to make do with a studio instead of an apartment. "What we want is not luxury," said Maillard. The AHV is not social welfare, but income deferred into retirement. "We are concerned with wage policy."
Combating poverty was the founding goal of the AHV, said Green National Councillor Léonore Porchet (VD). According to figures from Pro Senectute, around 300,000 people of retirement age are at risk of poverty, many of them women. A 13th AHV pension would mean at least a small increase in the value of women's work.
SP Co-President Mattea Meyer called the loss of purchasing power of pensioners "economic nonsense". The Zurich National Councillor said that people who have to think about whether to take a trip or buy a present for their grandchildren when they retire consume less.
A watering can
Based on figures from the Federal Council, the committee argues that the AHV has sufficient financial cushion to provide the "thirteenth" until around 2030 without additional contributions. Only then, if necessary, would employers' and employees' salary contributions have to be increased by 0.4 percent each.
The initiators put the cost of the 13th AHV pension at around CHF 4.1 billion at the time of its introduction. The "thirteenth" would correspond to an increase in AHV pensions of 8.33 percent. This increase would primarily benefit people on low and medium incomes.
Vania Alleva, President of the trade union Unia, calculated what the 13th pension would cost for working people and what it would bring in retirement age. On a monthly income of CHF 6,000, for example, CHF 24 more would have to be paid in AHV contributions in order to receive CHF 186 more pension later on.
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, on the other hand, would have to pay an additional CHF 4,400 per month into the AHV after a Yes vote, Alleva explained, and he would receive a supplement of CHF 200. Alleva said that Switzerland needs the AHV like a flower bed needs a watering can in order to ensure social justice and a dignified old age for all.
Supplementary benefits must not be reduced
Both current and future pensioners should be entitled to the supplement. According to the text of the initiative, the 13th AHV pension must be paid out at the latest at the start of the second calendar year after the initiative is adopted, i.e. 2026.
According to Maillard, however, it would be possible to introduce the 13th AHV pension as early as next year. Supplementary benefits (EL) should not be reduced in return for the "thirteenth", added the SGB President. According to the text of the initiative, the statutory criteria for supplementary benefits must be adjusted accordingly.
The initiative is backed by trade unions, political parties and senior citizens' organizations. The Federal Council and parliament recommend a No. According to the national government, a Yes vote would result in additional expenditure for the AHV of around five billion francs in 2032 - in addition to the forecast contribution deficit of 4.7 billion francs.
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