GENEVA (AFP) – Swiss voters yesterday appeared set to accept a proposal to boost pension payments while snubbing a push to hike the retirement age, at a time when the country’s ageing population faces ever-swelling living expenses.
Shortly after polling stations closed at noon, the gfs.bern polling institute projected that the Swiss had overwhelmingly rejected a call to gradually raise the retirement age from 65 to 66.
The second proposal on yesterday’s ballot, calling for a 13th monthly pension payment each year, appeared headed towards a popular majority, the polling institute said.
But it remained unclear whether the initiative could secure the double-majority needed to pass, by winning both the popular vote and majorities in most of Switzerland’s 26 cantons.
Initial partial results for instance showed voters in Geneva backing the proposal by nearly 76 per cent, while 53.5 per cent of voters in the central canton of Lucerne opposed it. Most people vote in advance in Switzerland, which holds popular votes and referenda every few months under its direct democracy system, and final results were expected by late afternoon.
The ‘Better living in retirement’ proposal, put forward by Swiss trade unions, calls for pensioners to receive an additional monthly payment, similar to the 13th monthly salary that many employees receive in Switzerland and other European countries.
Monthly social security pension payments in Switzerland can rise to CHF2,450 for individuals and CHF3,675 for married couples.
The payments do not go far in a country consistently ranked among the most expensive in the world.
“There is a purchasing power crisis,” head of the Swiss Trade Union Federation (SGB) and part of the “yes” campaign Pierre-Yves Maillard, told AFP ahead of the vote.
“The cost of living just keeps soaring,” agreed Jakob Hauri, a retiree quoted by the campaign.
Left-leaning parties support the initiative but it has been fiercely fought by right-wing and centrist parties.
The Swiss government and parliament also oppose it.
The government has said that the proposed hike would cost more than CHF4 billion a year, warning that it would require tax increases and could threaten the financial stability of the social security system.
