Switzerland’s occupational pensions, known as the 2nd pillar, are feeling the squeeze of lackluster returns and an aging population. This week, the government added to the strain by setting the minimum rate pension managers must pay pension holders at 1.25% for 2024, a 0.25 percentage point rise over last year, reported RTS. Inevitably, the announcement […]
Swiss inflation returns in October
Consumer prices increased by 0.1% in October 2023, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. Rising prices in October represent a reversal of the 0.1% fall in September 2023. October’s rise in inflation kept the annual rate of inflation at 1.7%, 0.3 percentage points below the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) preferred maximum of 2% […]
Switzerland increases federal spending forecast
Every quarter, Switzerland publishes updated spending forecasts for the current year. On 25 October 2023, it raised the 2023 spending forecast by CHF 300 million to 81.6 billion, an increase of 0.4% on the previous quarter, but still below the original budget. The revision takes the ordinary budget deficit from an original CHF -700 million […]
Switzerland breaks donation record in 2022
Total donations made in Switzerland reached CHF 2.5 billion in 2022, a record according to Zewo, an auditor of charities. The record figure was partly driven by the CHF 418 million donated to Ukraine. The CHF 2.5 billion donated in 2022 was 22% higher than the total in 2021 and 38% than the total in […]
Swiss train fares hike due to government pressure reveal documents
Train and other public transport fares in Switzerland are set to rise 3.7% on average from 10 December 2023. This week it was revealed that the hike was pushed by the federal government, reported Swiss broadcaster SRF. The decision to increase fares came after the federal government put pressure on Swiss Rail to push the […]
Rent disputes multiply in French-speaking Switzerland
The costs of mortgages and building maintenance are rising. Rents are following. In French-speaking Switzerland tenant arbitration organisations are receiving a deluge of complaints and requests for help from tenants, reported RTS. In Switzerland, it is common for rental agreements to contain a clause that allows rents to be adjusted up or down based on […]
Referendum to cap health insurance premiums to move forward
An initiative proposed by Switzerland’s Centre Party looks set to move to the next phase after government counter proposals were rejected this week, reported SRF. The cost of Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance will rise by 8.7% next year, something that has pushed the issue to the top of voters’ list of concerns – in a […]
Swiss inflation turns negative in September
Switzerland’s consumer price index (CPI) changed by -0.1% in September 2023 compared with the previous month, and year-on-year inflation was +1.7%, a rate below the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) target maximum rate of 2.0%, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The 0.1% fall compared with the previous month was due to several factors, wrote FSO. […]
More than 90 members of Swiss parliament defending healthcare
After the United States, Switzerland has the world’s second most costly healthcare. Cost-saving reforms put forward by the health minister over many years have yielded little. Last week, average compulsory health insurance premiums rose the most in more than a decade. This week, an investigation by the newspaper SonntagsZeitung (NZZ), revealed 90 parliamentarians working as […]
Swiss health insurance premiums set to rise most since 2010
Health insurance premiums will rise by 8.7% on average in 2024, announced the authorities this week. This is the sharpest rise since 2010 when they rose by 8.6%. The average monthly premium across Switzerland in 2024 will be CHF 359.50. Health Minister Alain Berset and Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) director Anne Lévy announced the […]