The government would like people in Switzerland to work beyond the retirement age to boost the pension fund, and more news in our roundup on Friday.
The government encourages population to work beyond retirement age
Due to the aging of the population and the retiring baby boomers, the state pension (AHV / AVS) spending will increase sharply over the next 10 years.
Currently, 2.5 million people in Switzerland receive the first-pillar pension, but this figure will rise to 2.8 million and 3 million in 2030 and 2035, respectively.
At the same time, the working population that pays into the social security system is not growing fast enough. As a result, if no measures are taken, the AHV / AVS is expected to show a deficit of 2.5 billion francs within five years.
To prevent this scenario from happening, and to keep money flowing into the pension fund, the government would like people in Switzerland to continue working beyond the statuary retirement age of 65.
“We should let people decide themselves how long they want to work,” instead imposing a statuary retirement age on them, said Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, who is overseeing the Federal Social Insurance Office.
New rents in Switzerland continued to rise in April
The Homegate rent index rose by 0.2 percent in April compared to the previous month, as reported by the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group on Thursday.
New rents rose in the majority of cantons, most notably in the two Appenzells (+1.4 percent).
However, they fell in Uri (-0.9 percent), Schaffhausen (-0.8percent), and — perhaps most surprisingly, given its chronic housing shortage — in Zurich (-0.1 percent).
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Government asks public to propose ways to cut health insurance costs
Swiss authorities have been trying to curb the cost of health insurance for quite a while.
On Thursday, the Federal Council invited Switzerland’s population to participate as well, virtually, in debates on new cost-containment measures in mandatory health insurance.
Anyone interested in sharing ideas on how this goal could be achieved for the benefit of everyone in Switzerland can submit, anonymously, concrete proposals to the electronic suggestion box until June 20th.
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Switzerland and France to sign a peace treaty — though it is a bit cheesy
Several months ago, the French and Swiss melted cheese enthusiasts waged a ‘war’ to see which side can organise a bigger raclette-eating event.
Switzerland won with 4,893 participants versus France’s 2,522.
The plan calls for both sides to meet on June 1st and (figuratively speaking) bury the hatchet.
The peace-making event will take place in Saint-Gingolph, a community that straddles the border between Valais and Haute Savoie.
That is where the first-ever “raclette peace treaty” will occur, during which participants from both sides of the border will melt and eat some cheese wheels.
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