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REFERENDUMS IN SWITZERLAND

Polls show Swiss pension reform hangs in the balance

With only just over a week to go until the Swiss people vote on a significant reform to the country’s pension system, the polls are neck and neck.

Published: 13 September 2017 10:08 CEST
Polls show Swiss pension reform hangs in the balance
Photo: alexwraths/Depositphotos
According to a survey by 20 Minutes publisher Tamedia, the reform will be narrowly rejected, with only 48 percent in favour of the plan and 49 percent against it. Three percent said they had not decided.
 
However a second survey by research institute gfs.bern showed the reverse, with 51 percent in favour of the reforms, a slight decrease from the 53 percent who expressed support for the plan during the institute’s first survey in August. 
 
The vote takes place on September 24th and comes after parliament finally agreed on a package to secure funding for old age pensions following more than two years of debate.
 
The reforms are necessary to ensure the future of Switzerland’s  AVS/AHV state pension scheme – the first pillar of the country’s three-pillar system – which, if nothing changes, will suffer a huge deficit due to the aging population. 
 
People will be asked to vote on two issues: a suite of reforms to the pension scheme, and a constitutional amendment to raise VAT by 0.6 percent from eight percent at present.
 
Both proposals must be accepted if the government’s plans are to go ahead.
 
 
Under the planned reform the retirement age for women would be raised to 65 from 64, bringing it into line with that for men.
 
Second pillar (occupational) pension payments will decrease from 6.8 percent of the capital per year to six percent, although salary deductions will go up slightly.
 
That will be compensated with an additional monthly 70 francs in AVS/AHV payments from 2019, financed through the rise in VAT.
 
Voters on the political left are much more in favour of the reforms than the right, with Socialists and Greens both over 70 percent in favour, according to the Tamedia survey, while voters with the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and Liberal-Radicals are only 18 percent and 45 percent in favour respectively.
 
On the whole, older voters support the plans more than younger people, found both surveys.
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HEALTH INSURANCE

How Switzerland’s two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you

The price of Swiss health insurance premiums has been rising significantly in the past few years, prompting political parties to launch two cost-cutting initiatives. The votes will take place in June and there's a lot at stake.

Published: 24 April 2024 15:33 CEST
How Switzerland's two crucial health insurance referendums could impact you

On June 9th, the Swiss will cast their votes on two issues aiming, though in different ways, to curb the continually increasing cost of the obligatory health insurance (KVG / LaMal).

This is what’s at stake.

The ’10-percent’ initiative

In view of the high (and rising) premiums and other costs of living, which eat up a big chunk of the budgets of low- and middle-income consumers, the Social Democratic Party has spearheaded a national vote to cap the insurance rates at 10 percent of income.

Anything over this limit should be paid for by the federal and cantonal government, the party says.

While this strategy may sound enticing to everyone tired of paying high premiums, the government warns that while this proposal looks good on paper, the ‘yes’ vote could unleash some serious consequences.

Its main argument is that this measure would cost several billion francs per year, and does not provide any incentives to control health costs.

Instead, the Federal Council and the parliament have concocted their own ‘counter initiative’ that they want voters to approve.

Under this proposal, cantons will have to increase the amount of financial help they pay toward health premiums for low-income people. 

READ ALSO: How do I apply for health insurance benefits in Switzerland?

‘For Lower Premiums’ initiative

For its part, the Centre party has come up with its own proposal to reduce health insurance costs, which will also be voted on June 9th.

It provides for a ‘brake’ on health costs, which should evolve according to the economy and wages.

This brake would work in the same way as the federal spending brake. Therefore, when healthcare costs exceed wages for a given year by 20 percent, the government must take action to bring the  costs down.

The government is asking voters to turn down the Centre’s proposal because it doesn’t take into account factors such as demography, technological progress in healthcare, as well as the dependence of salaries on economic developments.

Here too, the Federal Council and parliament have put out their own counter-project, providing for more targeted measures, including specific cost control objectives for healthcare services.

Are there any other proposals on the table aiming to curb the cost of insurance premiums?

Yes.

While they are not on the ballot, two ideas have been debated in past months.

One calls for scrapping multiple private carriers  in favour of a government-run single health insurance scheme, similar to that in the EU. 

The other idea floating around is to replace the current system where rates are determined by factors such as age and canton of residence, and base them on wages instead. 

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