Swiss To Vote On Retirement Age, Pensions

Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Feb, 2024) The Swiss will vote Sunday on two initiatives aimed at reshaping pensioners' lives in diametrically different ways, with one seeking to boost pension payments, the other to hike the retirement age.

Swiss trade unions have put forward a proposal to add an additional monthly social security payment to help pensioners keep up with rising costs in the wealthy Alpine nation.

That initiative, entitled "Better living in retirement" calls for a 13th monthly pension payment each year, similar to the additional 13th monthly salary many employees receive in Switzerland.

Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Swiss voters favour the initiative, although the "yes" side's lead appears to be shrinking and it remains unclear if it will pass.

Monthly social security payments in Switzerland can rise to 2,450 Swiss francs ($2,780) for individuals and 3,675 francs for married couples.

It may sound like a lot, but the payments do not go far in a country consistently ranked among the most expensive in the world.

Rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment in Swiss cities is at least 3,000 francs, and a coffee costs upwards of five francs.

If the Swiss do greenlight the shift, they would not be the first in Europe -- neighboring Liechtenstein, another pricey nation that uses the Swiss franc, has had a similar system in place for years.