Voters reject higher retirement age according to SRG trend calculation
Published: Sunday, Mar 3rd 2024, 12:12
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The retirement age for men and women will not be raised for the time being. The Swiss electorate has rejected a popular initiative by the Young Liberals, which initially proposed a retirement age of 66 and then linking it to life expectancy.
This was revealed on Sunday afternoon by the trend calculation carried out by the research institute gfs.bern on behalf of SRG. The popular initiative "For secure and sustainable old-age provision (pension initiative)" is therefore likely to fail in both the popular vote and the majority of the cantons.
The no vote is not surprising. Although the supporters had recently gained votes, the opponents of the bill were always clearly in the majority. The last polls before the vote predicted a No vote share of over 60%.
During the referendum campaign, the proposal remained in the shadow of the other initiative on old-age provision, that on the 13th AHV pension. In terms of budget, both supporters and opponents invested significantly less money in the campaign for and against the pension initiative, with the Yes camp clearly ahead in terms of expenditure. The initiative committee had around one million francs in campaign funds at its disposal.
Majority against automatism
The pension initiative was launched by the Young Liberals. As a first step, it called for an increase in the retirement age for women and men to 66 by 2033, after which the retirement age should be linked to life expectancy, as is already the case in some European countries.
The SVP, FDP and renowned business associations supported the initiative. They warned that without a new AHV reform, the financing and long-term security of old-age provision would be at risk because the population is getting older and older. Increasing the retirement age or linking it to life expectancy would be the most sustainable solution.
The SP, Center Party, Greens, GLP and trade unions voted against the proposal. They argued that an automatic system enshrined in the constitution linking pensions and life expectancy was too rigid. When determining the retirement age, the development of the economy and labor market as well as the state of health of people in the country should also be taken into account. A political discussion on the retirement age must be possible.
Pressure to reform remains
This discussion about a higher retirement age has not been put on hold following the "no" to the pension initiative, but merely postponed. The next AHV reform for the period from 2030 is already in the pipeline. A higher retirement age is also likely to be discussed in this context.
The retirement age for men is currently 65, while the retirement age for women is - still - 64. With the OASI reform approved at the ballot box in 2022, the retirement age for women will also be increased in stages to 65 from 2025 and until 2028.
The AHV works according to the pay-as-you-go principle: the contributions paid in by those in employment are paid out to pensioners as a pension. Due to increasing life expectancy and the growing number of pensioners - not least because of the retirement of the baby boomers - the AHV is likely to run into financial difficulties because fewer working people will have to finance more pensioners.
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