Pensions: the pension is getting lower and lower
Keystone-SDA
Those who retire after a lifetime of work are receiving less and less money from the Swiss pension system. The combined old-age and survivor’s pension (OASI) and pension fund payouts have fallen by an average of 16% since 2002.
This is the conclusion reached in an analysis published today by the financial services provider VZ VermögensZentrum.
While OASI payments have tended to remain constant over the years and will increase slightly with the introduction of the 13th monthly payment from 2026, pension funds have massively reduced their benefits: pension payments are 40% lower than in 2002. The reasons are low interest rates that may soon turn negative again, rising life expectancy and the failure of the occupational pension reform.
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In theory, pensions should pay out 60% of the final salary but this is no longer the case. Concretely, a person currently earning CHF100,000 per year will receive about 51% of his or her final salary in the form of a pension at retirement. With an income of CHF150,000 the share drops to as low as 42%.
Reality is also often more bitter than expectations: pension expectations are systematically too high, warns VZ Vermögenszentrum on the basis of a survey. On the other hand, erosion is evident: a 55-year-old man with an income of CHF120,000 in 2002 could still count on an annual pension of CHF74,920; in 2025 this figure is only CHF62,860.
The downward trend is also expected to continue. Among other things, the latest cut in the guide rate to 0.0% by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the further increase in life expectancy will weigh heavily.
Adapted from Italian by DeepL/ac
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