Will the right Swiss residents benefit from an extra monthly pension payment?

On March 3, Swiss voters will decide whether retired people in Switzerland receive a 13th old-age and survivors’ monthly pension payment. KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally

The initiative for a “13th OASI pension payment”, also called “Better living in old age”, is the flagship of the Swiss Trade Union Federation. It will be put to a popular vote in Switzerland on March 3. What is your opinion? Join the discussion on "dialogue".

The initiative demands that Swiss recipients of old-age and survivors’ insurance (OASI) pension receive an extra payment every year, equivalent to a 12th of their annual pension. This would be provided as a 13th monthly pension payment. This supplement should neither lead to a reduction in supplementary benefits nor to a loss of entitlement to these benefits.

While the majority of the centre-right camp rejects the proposal, there seems to be a minor “Röstigraben” or “Rösti divide”, a saying to describe the differences of mentality between the German- and French-language regions, particularly when there are federal votes. “Purchasing power was the number one political and election campaign issue in French-speaking Switzerland – from the left to the right,” says Swiss public television, SRF, Western Switzerland correspondent Andreas Stüdli.

At the end of 2023, the Swiss People’s Party in Geneva decided to support the proposal. Other cantonal branches of the Swiss People’s Party, such as those in Jura and Ticino, might also decide to support the proposal. As a matter of fact, in canton Ticino, the Lega dei Ticinesi, the right-wing/populist protest movement in canton Ticino has already decided to support a 13th monthly pension payment, which would mirror the 13^th monthly salary system some Swiss receive. 

The Swiss People’s Party national branch will make a final decision on January 27. However, at the well-known Albisgüetli meeting in canton Zurich, former Federal Councillor and influential party leader Christoph Blocher campaigned to reject the initiative in front of the approximately 1,000 party members present.

Join the discussion about the 13th OASI pension proposal with citizens in Switzerland and with the Swiss Abroad.

Constitutional right to a basic security of livelihood

According to the constitution, money people receive from the first pension pillar must adequately cover living expenses. However, the initiative committee believes that the current level of OASI old-age pensions is too low for the lower to middle income classes. Adrian Wüthrich, president of Travail Suisse, in the broadcast ECO Talk by SRF, agrees, “20% of pensioners live in poverty or are at risk of poverty. One in five pensioners therefore needs a strong OASI”.

Furthermore, according to the initiators, this income is not, or only insufficiently, supplemented by the pension fund (2nd pillar) for a large part of the population, particularly for women.

Too expensive and not sufficiently targeted

If the initiative is accepted, the annual expenditures of the OASI would increase by CHF4.1 billion ($4.76 billion). According to those rejecting the 13th OASI pension payment proposal, the additional burdens would exacerbate the financial problems of the OASI, which are linked to rising life expectancy and the fact that the baby boomer generation is gradually reaching retirement age.

Moreover, to grant this supplement to pensioners from higher income classes would be hardly justifiable from a socio-political point of view, as everyone, from the modest pensioner to the billionaire would receive the 13th OASI pension payment. This leads opponents to claim that the measure is not sufficiently targeted.

Translated by cm/amva