Switzerland Archives - Pension Policy International

01OctOctober 1, 2024

Swiss MP proposes integration of pension model for temp workers in second pillar

Christian Lohr, member of parliament (MP) for The Centre (Die Mitte) party in the National Council, the lower house of the Swiss parliament, has asked the government (Federal Council) to assess the possibility of integrating the pension model designed by the industry for temporary workers into the second pillar pension system, as an alternative to change occupational pensions after the public rejected the proposed reform in a recent vote. The pension fund model in the temporary employment sector enables many...

October 1, 2024

News2024, Financial Inclusion, Labor Market, Pension Reform, Switzerland

26SepSeptember 26, 2024

Swiss social democrats, unions lay out vision to change second pillar pension system

The Swiss social democratic party (SP) and several workers’ unions are laying out their views to change the second pillar pension system following the recent vote against a proposed reform. “What is needed now is progress in terms of women’s pensions, automatic inflation compensation and an end to rip-offs by banks and insurance companies,” the party said in a statement released soon after the results. The social democrats demand measures to close pension gaps, especially for women. “The introduction of education and care...

September 26, 2024

NewsPension Reform, Switzerland

23SepSeptember 23, 2024

Swiss Voters Shoot Down Government’s Pension-Fund Reform

Swiss voters rebuffed a government plan to reform company pension funds, marking the second time this year that a proposal to adapt the country’s retirement system to changed demographics was rejected in a plebiscite. The bill to increase wage deductions and reduce retirement payouts — in order to cope with higher life expectancy — was supported by just 32.9% of the electorate, according to final government results published on Sunday. “Now we stick with the status quo,” Switzerland’s leading business lobby...

September 23, 2024

NewsPension Reform, Switzerland

31MayMay 31, 2024

Switzerland: Social security changes come into force, with implications for pension plans

Employer Action Code: Act Switzerland’s AHV/AVS 21 law, which was approved by parliament and then passed by public referendum in 2022, took effect January 1, 2024. Among other things, the law will increase the age for normal retirement (now called the “reference age”) for women under the social security AHV/AVS[1] retirement program as well as for pension plans that provide the mandatory BVG/LPP[2] retirement benefits. Key details The reference age for women (currently age 64) under the AHV/AVS and under BVG/LPP pension...

May 31, 2024

NewsPension Reform, Retirement Age, Switzerland

16MayMay 16, 2024

Swiss to vote on pension reform and biodiversity in September

A referendum against a reform of the so-called second pillar of the Swiss pension system, launched at the end of March 2023 by leftwing parties and unions, collected over 141,000 signatures, almost three times more than necessary. The reform provides for a reduction in the pension conversion rate from 6.8% to 6%, which is necessary due to rising life expectancy. The capital built up in an occupational pension scheme during professional activity is set to result in a smaller annuity. +...

May 16, 2024

NewsPension Reform, Switzerland

13MayMay 13, 2024

Swiss pension reform: the latest changes

These are the most important changes since January 1, 2024: – Expansion of the flexibility of pension payments – Incentives for gainful employment after 65 – Raising the retirement age (now called the reference age) for women to 65 (from January 1, 2025) On September 25, 2022, the Swiss electorate approved the reform package to stabilise the pension scheme. This aims to secure and maintain the level of old-age pensions, ensure the financial balance of the system over the next decade and meet...

May 13, 2024

NewsPension Reform, Retirement Age, Switzerland

09MayMay 9, 2024

Swiss Parliament pushes discussion on pension funds’ cost transparency

The social security and health committee of the National Council (SGK-N), the lower house of the Swiss Parliament, has voted in favour of submitting a motion to discuss pension funds’ obligations on costs disclosure. The committee shares the view of the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO), that information on administrative costs should be easily accessible and comprehensible for the general public, it said in a statement. Only a minority of the members of the committee considers the existing rules on pension funds’...

May 9, 2024

NewsCorporate Governance, Operations, Regulation, Switzerland

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

October 2024

Swiss MP proposes integration of pension model for temp workers in second pillar

September 2024

Swiss social democrats, unions lay out vision to change second pillar pension system

Swiss Voters Shoot Down Government’s Pension-Fund Reform

May 2024

Switzerland: Social security changes come into force, with implications for pension plans

Swiss to vote on pension reform and biodiversity in September

Swiss pension reform: the latest changes

Swiss Parliament pushes discussion on pension funds’ cost transparency

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