More than half of the Swiss see a great need for reform in the AHV, but also in occupational pension provision. Just under 60% want the 2nd or 3rd pillars to be strengthened in parallel with the 1st pillar.
A good 52% of the Swiss population think the AHV (1st pillar) suffers from a high need for reform. At 51.6%, almost the same number of Swiss also see a substantial need for reform in occupational pension provision (2nd pillar). Only in private pension provision (3rd pillar) is the need for reform rated as lower. At almost 60%, a large proportion is also in favor of strengthening the 2nd or 3rd pillar in parallel with the 1st pillar. For example, 46.1% of respondents support the proposal that low-income earners should also be insured in the pension fund. In addition, 23.7% of respondents were in favor of depoliticizing the conversion rate that pension funds use to calculate pensions. At 3.9%, however, there was little support for the variant according to which occupational pension provision should be completely dissolved in favor of a strong expansion of the first pillar. This is the result of the Raiffeisen Pension Barometer 2022 (PDF).
Between June 13 and 24, 1,006 people between the ages of 18 and 65 were surveyed by the Link Institute and economic data was analyzed. While Raiffeisen contributes the entrepreneurial and consumer perspective to the pension barometer, the ZHAW School of Management and Law covers the scientific part.
Higher contribution payments receive the least support
In order to improve the level of benefits in the AHV, various reform options are being discussed. For the Swiss population, the most pressing issue seems to be the capped AHV pensions: 58.7% want to abolish the marriage penalty in the AHV and put married couples on an equal footing with cohabiting couples in the AHV. In second place, with 30.3% in favor, is the possibility of making unlimited additional payments into the AHV in the event of gaps. In order to ensure the financing of the AHV in the future, 57.2% of respondents would like to see the profits of the Swiss National Bank flow into the AHV. This option is significantly more popular among people aged 51 to 65 than among young people. In second place, with 32.7% in favor, is an earlier obligation for everyone to contribute, starting at age 18 instead of 21. Higher contributions from employees and employers, on the other hand, receive the lowest level of support, at 15.7%.
Many men support retirement age 65 for both men and women
76.5% of respondents are in favor of a new retirement age. In first place, with 35.8% support (from both genders), is the retirement age of 65 for men and women. There is a significant difference between the responses of the men and women surveyed: while 41.5% of the men are in favor of adjusting the retirement age to 65 for men and women, only 30.0% of the women agree with the proposal. Only just 13.4% of men want to keep the status quo with retirement age 65 for men and retirement age 64 for women. Among women, 28.6% are in favor of the current arrangement. 29.1% agree with a flexible retirement age, with no significant differences between men and women.
Many retirement savers pay too little attention to inflation
Higher inflation and developments on the global financial markets in the first half of 2022 are putting pressure on the pension system. Accordingly, at 27.0%, a significantly higher proportion of the population than last year (22.8%) is concerned that benefits in personal pension plans will have to be cut due to a decline in the profitability of pension assets.
When it comes to protecting retirement assets against inflation, however, around 40% of the population are out of their depth. In other words, they either don't take any of the measures listed or they don't know what to do. 36.4% of respondents simply leave their retirement assets in their accounts. Just 16.3% want to protect themselves by buying securities, 14.3% by buying their own home and 5.2% by buying gold.
High earners see securities purchase as inflation protection
High earners, people with a higher education and men in particular see the purchase of securities as protection against inflation. In general, securities saving has reached a new high with 40.2% of respondents. In particular, people with a good pension conscience or a higher income prefer saving in securities as part of their pension provision. Traditional securities are clearly preferred over crypto funds: 75.8% of respondents do not want cryptocurrencies in their pension solutions.