Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

PENSIONS

New Worry Barometer shows what keeps the Swiss awake at night

Pensions, healthcare and immigration top the concerns of the Swiss, according to a new study published on Thursday.

Published: 6 December 2018 21:48 CET
New Worry Barometer shows what keeps the Swiss awake at night
The Swiss are satisfied with their personal financial situation but fear for the future. File photo: Depos

Retirement funds are the new joblessness, according to the Credit Suisse Worry Barometer 2018.

While Swiss voters are less afraid of losing their jobs than has been the case in previous editions of the influential study, 45 percent of voters now list the country’s ailing Old Age and Survivor’s Insurance (AHV/AVS) system – the Swiss population is going older and less people are paying in – as a top concern.

Read also: Revealed – how Swiss households spend their money

Following closely behind pensions in the list of concerns is healthcare and health insurance. This issue is now a worry for 41 percent of people – up a huge 15 percentage points in a year when spiralling healthcare costs have sparked intense debate.

In third place among the top concerns are foreigners, with 37 percent of respondents telling Credit Suisse this was a major worry. Meanwhile, asylum issues were a key concern for 31 percent of people, up a very big 12 percentage points.

The report’s authors noted this was the first time in three years that these concerned had gained in importance, despite a small dip in the number of asylum seekers in Switzerland.

Other worries that have become more significant are environmental protection (up seven percentage points to 23 percent, and back among the top five concerns) and wages (a rise of nine percentage points to 15 percent).

Trust in political parties slumps

The Worry Barometer also looked at the trust levels in various institutions. It found that 70 percent of voters trusted the Federal Supreme Court, while the same figure trusted the police (up 14 percentage points). The Swiss National Bank and the Army (both 63 percent on the back of large rises) also enjoy high levels of trust.

At the other end of the scale, just 39 percent of people surveyed trusted political parties (down 13 percentage points).

Meanwhile, pride in Switzerland has fallen to its lowest levels since the aftermath of the financial crisis. A total of 79 percent of people said they were “very” or “somewhat” proud to be Swiss, down 11 percentage points on a year ago.

Threats to identity

In terms of threats to identity, reform backlog (including health insurance and pensions) and immigration (both 61 percent), and EU problems (60 percent) were the main concerns cited by survey respondents.

At the same time, many people were satisfied with their own life situation with 42 percent giving themselves a score of eight out of ten for this. In addition, 92 percent of people said their economic situation was “satisfactory, “good,” or “very good”.

The results of the 2018 Worry Barometer are based on interviews with 2,551 eligible Swiss voters carried out by pollsters gfs.bern on behalf of Credit Suisse in June and July 2018.

Read also: Swiss wages – salaries in Zurich hit all time high

 

For members

LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Taxes to work permits: Who deals with what in Switzerland?

Like other countries, Switzerland too is a bureaucracy, where various government agencies oversee different functions of public and private life.

Published: 25 January 2024 14:56 CET
Taxes to work permits: Who deals with what in Switzerland?

Unless you are a hermit and live off the grid, you will, sooner or later (probably sooner), have to deal with administrative processes of one kind or another.

In this respect, Switzerland is no different from any other nation, with the only difference being that because it is small and well-organised, the bureaucratic machine is running smoother here than elsewhere.

On the plus side, because it is fairly efficient, dealing with various public entities is probably less of a hassle in Switzerland than in less tidy administrations.

If you are a foreigner, especially a newly arrived one, you may not yet be familiar with the workings of various government agencies — in other words, who does what.

The first thing to know is that very few tasks that are likely to affect you personally are done at the federal level; most administrative processes are handled by cantons and municipalities.

These are some of the most important services, and who is responsible for providing them:

Pensions: federal and cantonal

The Federal Department of the Interior regulates and supervises obligatory pension plans, while the Federal Social Insurance Office implements the scheme.

Your pension, however, will be paid by your canton’s social insurance office. 

Work / residence permits: cantons

Permits are delivered by your canton, though the application procedure is different depending on whether you are an EU / EFTA national or a citizen of a third country.

Cantonal authorities are also responsible for renewing / extending expiring permits.

Taxes: cantons

As the cantonal tax office calculates how much taxes you owe in any given year, your declaration must be sent to cantonal authority. 

They will collect the cantonal, federal, and municipal taxes, distributing the money proportionally among them.

Driver’s license / car registration: canton

Anything related to driving — tests, licenses, vehicle registrations, and inspections — is the responsibility of cantonal automobile services. 

Health insurance subsidies:canton

If the monthly premiums of your obligatory health insurance (KVG / LaMal) exceed 8 percent of your income, then you may qualify for subsidies (premium reductions) from your  canton of residence.

You can apply for them here. 

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

Social aid: canton and municipality

Welfare assistance comes under the responsibility of your canton, which will consider your application and determine if you are eligible for financial help.

However, you should submit your application for assistance to your municipality, which will then transfer it to the cantonal welfare office.

As you can see, most public services are managed by cantons, so you may be wondering what is the role of your local municipality / commune?

They do their share as well.

For instance, they manage a register of residents, organise and maintain their own fire brigades, civil defence units and police forces (the latter two mostly in bigger communes).

They are also responsible for schools on their territories, as well as local energy supplies, municipal roads and parking, waste management, and infrastructure planning and upkeep, among other tasks.

READ ALSO: What exactly does your Swiss commune do?

SHOW COMMENTS