Swiss pensions have fallen by 16% since 2002

Pensions: the pension is getting lower and lower

Keystone-SDA

Listen to the article

Listening the article

Toggle language selector

English (US)
English (British)

Generated with artificial intelligence.

Those who retire after a lifetime of work are receiving less and less money from the Swiss pension system. The combined old-age and survivor’s pension (OASI) and pension fund payouts have fallen by an average of 16% since 2002.

This content was published on

August 9, 2025 – 13:47

This is the conclusion reached in an analysis published today by the financial services provider VZ VermögensZentrum.

While OASI payments have tended to remain constant over the years and will increase slightly with the introduction of the 13th monthly payment from 2026, pension funds have massively reduced their benefits: pension payments are 40% lower than in 2002. The reasons are low interest rates that may soon turn negative again, rising life expectancy and the failure of the occupational pension reform.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

In theory, pensions should pay out 60% of the final salary but this is no longer the case. Concretely, a person currently earning CHF100,000 per year will receive about 51% of his or her final salary in the form of a pension at retirement. With an income of CHF150,000 the share drops to as low as 42%.

Reality is also often more bitter than expectations: pension expectations are systematically too high, warns VZ Vermögenszentrum on the basis of a survey. On the other hand, erosion is evident: a 55-year-old man with an income of CHF120,000 in 2002 could still count on an annual pension of CHF74,920; in 2025 this figure is only CHF62,860.

The downward trend is also expected to continue. Among other things, the latest cut in the guide rate to 0.0% by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the further increase in life expectancy will weigh heavily.

Adapted from Italian by DeepL/ac

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch.

Swiss and US parliamentarians meet in Geneva

Swiss and American parliamentarians meet in Geneva

This content was published on

Aug 9, 2025

Although this meeting is scheduled to take place twice a year regardless of the current crisis, tariffs were discussed.

WTO improves its world trade forecast thanks to Trump

WTO improves its world trade forecast thanks to Trump’s tariffs

This content was published on

Aug 9, 2025

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) expects world trade to grow by 0.9% this year, better than expected in April. US imports surged in the first quarter as a result of Donald Trump’s tariff announcements.

Gold exporters wait, the metal may not be taxed

Swiss gold exports might not face US tariffs after all

This content was published on

Aug 9, 2025

Gold exports to the United States may not be taxed after all. The White House plans to “issue an executive order in the near future to clarify misinformation regarding the taxation of gold bullion,” among other things.

2.8 million tonnes of food loss per year

The Swiss waste 2.8 million tonnes of food per year

This content was published on

Aug 9, 2025

This corresponds to around 330 kilograms of avoidable food waste per person per year.

Federal government remains mum on tariff negotiations in the USA

Swiss authorities keep shtum on US tariff strategy

This content was published on

Aug 8, 2025

For tactical reasons, the government is refraining to comment on how its negotiating team in Washington is proceeding.

Plastics: Switzerland wants "a change of pace" in the talks

Swiss negotiator urges progress at Geneva plastics talks

This content was published on

Aug 8, 2025

Felix Wertli says a “change of pace” is needed at UN talks on an international deal to combat plastic pollution.

Heat warning for parts of western Switzerland and Ticino

Heat warning issued in western and southern Switzerland

This content was published on

Aug 8, 2025

With the coming days set to be hot, authorities have declared a danger level of 3 out of 5 for certain parts of the country.

Pilatus no longer delivers aircraft to the USA due to tariffs

Tariffs: aircraft maker Pilatus to pause exports to the US

This content was published on

Aug 8, 2025

The Swiss aircraft manufacturer is to temporarily stop supplying the US – 39% levies are too damaging, it says.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured in 2023.

Switzerland concerned by fresh Israeli plans for Gaza

This content was published on

Aug 8, 2025

The foreign ministry has said it is “deeply concerned” about Israel’s plans to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Blatten: satellite images of ground movements from 2016

Satellite images detect signs of Blatten landslide in 2016

This content was published on

Aug 8, 2025

Warning signs of the landslide that wiped out the village in May were visible from space years before, the ESA has found.

Swiss pensions have fallen by 16% since 2002

Tags: