Swiss To Vote On Pension Reform And Biodiversity In September

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Swiss citizens will vote on a reform of occupational pension schemes and a biodiversity initiative on September 22, the federal Council announced on Wednesday.

A referendum against a reform of the so-called second pillar of the Swiss pension system, launched at the end of March 2023 by leftwing parties and unions, collected over 141,000 signatures, almost three times more than necessary.

The reform provides for a reduction in the pension conversion rate from 6.8% to 6%, which is necessary due to rising life expectancy. The capital built up in an occupational pension scheme during professional activity is set to result in a smaller annuity.

+ Five key takeaways from Switzerland's pension votes

Under the reform, half of those who are insured will benefit from pension compensation during a transitional period of 15 years. The threshold for access to the second pillar will be lowered, which will allow 100,000 people to be newly or better insured, mainly people working part time and women.

But for those behind the referendum, people working part time and women will once again be penalised. The majority will suffer pension cuts, they say. They argue that parties on the right had promised to tackle the problem of low pensions, in particular those of women.

The Swiss will also vote on a biodiversity initiative. The proposal calls for adequate resources and space for nature. It also wants to anchor better protection of the landscape and Switzerland's building heritage in the Swiss Constitution.

+ Biodiversity petition signed by more than 40,000 people

The government had put forward a counterproposal on this issue. The campaigners were ready to withdraw their text if the counterproposal was adopted in parliament. The House of Representatives was favourable, but took out certain elements.

+ Close to 20% of Swiss wildlife on the verge of local extinction

Senators, however, argued that it still went too far and would have significant consequences, particularly on agriculture, tourism and energy production. The Senate eventually voted to reject the Federal Council's counterproposal.

Adapted from French by DeepL/sb

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look
here ,
and if you have feedback on this news story please write to
... .

Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox.

Daily

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.

I consent to the use of my data for the SWI swissinfo newsletter.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 Switzerland plans to introduce a flight passenger database to collect and process personal data in a bid to combat terrorism and serious crime.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 The federal government intends to invest CHF16.4 billion ($18.1 billion) in railway infrastructure between 2025 and 2028, CHF2 billion more than for the current period.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 To date, 50 countries out 160 invited delegations have confirmed they will attend the Ukraine peace conference, held in central Switzerland in mid-June, according to Swiss public radio, RTS.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 Switzerland's top criminal court has convicted a former interior minister of the Gambia for crimes against humanity.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 The body of a Canadian man who had been missing since the deadly avalanche that hit Zermatt on April 1 has been found.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 Swiss footwear company On Holding AG posted strong first-quarter revenue, boosted by demand for its running shoes and new line of training apparel.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 Watches belonging to Formula 1 great Michael Schumacher sold for around CHF4 million ($4.41 million) at auction house Christie's in Geneva on Tuesday.

This content was published on May 15, 2024 Police moved in early on Wednesday to remove some 30 pro-Palestinian student protesters from a Bern university building.

This content was published on May 14, 2024 French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

This content was published on May 14, 2024 A social media post by the president of Bern's cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at ... .

MENAFN15052024000210011054ID1108217725