Swiss vote to give themselves a bigger pension

Swiss voters have given themselves an extra month's pension each year - in a nationwide referendum focusing on living standards for the elderly, BBC reports.

 

The government had warned that the increased payments would be too expensive to afford.

 

But almost 60% of voters said 'yes' in Sunday's poll. Separately, 75% rejected raising the pension age from 65 to 66.

 

The maximum monthly state pension is €2,550 (£2,180; $2,760) - not enough, many say, to live on in Switzerland.

 

The cost of living in Switzerland, particularly in cities such as Zurich and Geneva, is among the highest in the world.

 

Health insurance premiums, which are obligatory for everyone, have been rising fast, and older people sometimes struggle to pay them.

 

Women who may have had work breaks to raise a family, and immigrants recruited decades ago to work in Swiss factories, restaurants, or hospitals, can find it particularly difficult to make ends meet.

 

More and more people are working into their 70s not out of choice, but out of necessity. Meanwhile among the younger generation, work related stress and burnout are increasing.

 

The proposal to increase pensions came from the trades unions - but was opposed by the Swiss government, parliament, and business leaders, who argued it was unaffordable.

 

Voters in Switzerland often take their government's advice about money matters: a few years ago they actually rejected an extra week's holiday a year.

 

This time they said enough was enough, using the power that Switzerland's system of direct democracy gives them to vote themselves an extra month's pension each year.

 

The initiative also secured the required double-majority: getting the popular vote, and also majorities in most of the country's 26 cantons.

 

The result was described as a "historic victory for retirees" by Avivo, a Swiss association that defends the rights of current and future pensioners.