Swiss pessimistic about financial future

Increasing health insurance premiums are the main cause of financial headaches © Keystone / Christian Beutler

Not since 2017 have people in Switzerland been this gloomy about the New Year. A quarter of respondents to an annual survey on personal finance expect things to get worse in 2023, with the main reason being rising health insurance premiums.

Overall, 27.5% expect their financial situation to deteriorate in the coming year, according to a representative survey by comparis.ch published on Tuesday.

The lower the income, the darker the outlook. For people with a gross monthly household income of up to CHF4,000 ($4,300), 41.8% expect things to get worse. For those with a gross income of CHF4,000-CHF8,000 the figure is 28.1%, and for those with an income of over CHF8,000, 21%.

Half (49%) of the low-wage group say they will have to count every franc and cut back heavily to pay all their bills. Among those with higher incomes, the figure is 27.2% (CHF4,000-CHF8,000) and 6.3% (over CHF8,000).

The main reason for the pessimistic financial outlook, according to 75.5% of respondents, is the sharp rise in health insurance premiums (2022: 37.1%). In second place (38.1%) was the rising cost of rent or mortgages (2022: 14.8%). Another 14.9% fear that their investments will lose value (2022: 10.1%).

Effect of inflation

Even the non-pessimistic respondents are feeling the pinch of inflation: 71.2% say they are feeling inflation strongly to very strongly in their household budget, with it being most evident in the price of energy for heating.

Inflation meant 52.6% of those surveyed say they plan to save more and spend less. Over half (50.9%) say they will forgo major purchases such as furniture or cars.

The representative survey was conducted by the market research institute Innofact on behalf of comparis.ch in December among 1,047 people in all regions of Switzerland.