Switzerland Archives - Pension Policy International

20FebFebruary 20, 2024

Swiss actuaries back initiative to increase retirement age

The Swiss Actuarial Association – Schweizerischen Aktuarvereinigung – is backing an initiative in favour of increasing the retirement age in line with life expectancy in a referendum that will take place on 3 March. The longer it takes to adjust and automate the mechanism to increase the retirement age, the greater the loss will be for the pension system in terms of financial sustainability and even more drastic steps will be necessary in the future, the actuaries said in a...

February 20, 2024

NewsRetirement Age, Switzerland

28NovNovember 28, 2023

Swiss government reviews first and second pillar pensions

The Swiss government has adopted several changes to the regulation on old-age and survivors’ insurance (AHVG), and other laws also relating to occupational pensions (BVV2), to review and strengthen supervision in the country’s first and second pillar pension systems. In the second pillar, the reviewed ordinance clarifies the definition of pensioners’ portfolios, which can be transferred from one pension scheme to another, in addition to the definition of sufficient funding. This gives experts in the field of occupational pensions a clearer...

November 28, 2023

NewsPension Reform, Switzerland

14SepSeptember 14, 2023

Minimum interest rate rise a ‘sustainable challenge’ for Swiss pension funds

The increase of the minimum interest rate – Mindestzinssatz – on pension savings to 1.25% recommend by the Swiss federal commission for occupational pensions, BVG-Kommission, is a challenge for pension funds, but sustainable, according to the commission’s president Christine Egerszegi-Obrist. “We held 1% [minimum interest rate] for years. A year ago we had negative interest rates and pension funds suffered considerably, [but] the interest rate landscape has changed, [therefore] we have carefully increased the interest rate,” she told IPE, explaining...

September 14, 2023

NewsSustainability, Switzerland

01SepSeptember 1, 2023

Swiss pension funds consider high costs as main obstacle to invest sustainably

Swiss pension funds consider high costs arising from the integration of ESG standards into their investments as the main obstacle for the implementation of an effective sustainability strategy, according to a study consulted by the Swiss government. ESG investments require a certain amount of capital to deploy for research, as those strategies can be carried out internally or through the involvement of external service providers, mandating asset managers or advisors, or via the providers of ESG financial products, for example...

September 1, 2023

NewsESG, Investment, Pension Management, Switzerland

10MayMay 10, 2023

Switzerland. Funds from the second pillar – the pension funds are struggling with low returns

Turbulence in the economy and on the financial markets – the pension institutes are also feeling the effects. Last year was not a good one for pension funds. This is shown in the annual report of the Supervisory Commission on occupational pensions. In particular, the fall in share prices has meant that many pension funds have made losses. The majority of these losses could be absorbed thanks to their reserves, but by no means all, as Vera Kupper sums up. 1.1 trillion...

May 10, 2023

NewsPension Management, savings, Switzerland

17MarMarch 17, 2023

Swiss parliament backs pension overhaul but critics seek referendum

Parliament has approved an overhaul of the occupational pension scheme - a key element of Switzerland's social security system. However, voters are likely to have the final say on the issue as political parties on the left, possibly backed by the main farmer's organisation, have announced they will challenge the reform via a referendum. The legal amendment approved by parliament is intended to secure the level of the occupational pension, strengthen financing and improve the protection of part-time employees, notably women. At...

March 17, 2023

News2023, Occupational Pensions, Pension Reform, Switzerland

17FebFebruary 17, 2023

Switzerland. Phone scammers targeting pensioners in Zurich stole 6,7 million francs in 2022

Phone scammers targeting residents of Zurich succeeded in stealing 6,7 million Swiss francs in 2022, SRF has reported. The trick involves the scammers posing as police officers and calling victims to ask them to pay “bail” in order to release a relative from jail. Many of the victims were retired. Phone scammers try to trick hundreds each day in Zurich According to Swiss broadcaster SRF, phone scammers try to swindle the residents of Zurich out of their hard-earned money hundreds of...

February 17, 2023

NewsIncome, supervision, Switzerland

15DecDecember 15, 2022

Swiss pension fund association lays out ESG reporting standards

The Swiss pension fund association ASIP has published reporting guidelines for Pensionskassen investments following ESG standards that will apply from 1 January. The ESG reporting guidelines include the disclosure of qualitative information on how pension funds deal with this topic, and quantitative information on individual investments. According to the guidelines, Pensionskassen would publilsh qualitative statements on the goals and principles of their sustainability strategies, underlining for example if they are anchored to investment rules, and the investment approaches for different asset...

December 15, 2022

NewsESG, Switzerland

25OctOctober 25, 2022

Swiss regulator expects underfunding for pension funds facing volatility

The Swiss occupational pension supervisory commission – OAK BV – expects that a number of pension funds will end up underfunded at the end of the year as a result of market volatility and negative returns. Some pension funds may decide to ultimately trigger restructuring measures, depending on the specific situation of the scheme. Funding ratios of Swiss pension schemes in fact continued to fall this year, from 103.4% at the end of June to 99.5% at the end of September,...

October 25, 2022

NewsInvestment, Regulation, Switzerland

18OctOctober 18, 2022

Swiss parliament committee votes for compensatory measures to reform second pillar pensions

The social security and health committee of the Council of States (SGK-S), the upper house of the Swiss parliament, voted in favour of a proposal to change the second pillar pension system at its meeting last Friday. After in-depth analysis, and disagreements before the summer break, the committee has supported the idea to compensate the first 15 cohorts retiring after the reform enters into force for the reduction of the conversion rate – Umwandlugssatz – used to calculate pension pay-outs,...

October 18, 2022

NewsPension Reform, Switzerland

February 2024

Swiss actuaries back initiative to increase retirement age

November 2023

Swiss government reviews first and second pillar pensions

September 2023

Minimum interest rate rise a ‘sustainable challenge’ for Swiss pension funds

Swiss pension funds consider high costs as main obstacle to invest sustainably

May 2023

Switzerland. Funds from the second pillar – the pension funds are struggling with low returns

March 2023

Swiss parliament backs pension overhaul but critics seek referendum

February 2023

Switzerland. Phone scammers targeting pensioners in Zurich stole 6,7 million francs in 2022

December 2022

Swiss pension fund association lays out ESG reporting standards

October 2022

Swiss regulator expects underfunding for pension funds facing volatility

Swiss parliament committee votes for compensatory measures to reform second pillar pensions