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When the AHV was introduced in 1948, the retirement age was set at 65 years. The number remained the same in Switzerland for decades and is no coincidence.
At least for men, the retirement age has not changed since it was introduced 80 years ago. But the number 65 didn’t fall from the sky back then, says Christian Koller, director of the Swiss Social Archives. Rather, it was an international trend at the time.
Germany introduced pension insurance at the end of the 1880s. The age of 70 was then reduced to 65 at the beginning of the 20th century. It was similar in Great Britain: before the First World War the limit was 70 until it was reduced to 65.
What is somewhat reasonable? How long can people work?
However, the noble idea of enabling those in employment to enjoy a peaceful retirement did not play a role in determining the retirement age. Rather, the focus was on the question of how long a worker would be productive for the economy. «What is somewhat reasonable? How long can people work?” explains Christian Koller.
Legend:
“It was less about how many years they would live after they retired. But: What is to some extent reasonable? How long can people work?” says Christian Koller.
Keystone/Gaetan Bally
And the conclusion was reached: People can work efficiently until they are around 65. As a result, the AHV in Switzerland was reformed several times. Increasing the retirement age was initially never an issue, says Martin Lengwiler, history professor at the University of Basel.
When the AHV was founded, the AHV was a very poor insurance policy.
These reforms were always about expanding the AHV. «When the AHV was founded, the AHV was a very poor insurance company. She paid very small pensions below the subsistence level. This was a socio-political problem until the end of the 1970s. In this context, raising the retirement age was not an issue at all. If so, then it was about lowering the retirement age. And that was also done with women.”
Legend:
The retirement age for women was lowered for two reasons: they were considered weaker workers and the conservative family image created an imbalance.
Keystone/Gaetan Bally
The women’s retirement age was reduced in two steps, first to 63 and then to 62. There were two main reasons for this. On the one hand, a fairly simple argument: “Women are weaker workers, so they have to be protected,” explains history professor Martin Lengwiler.
Secondly, the fact was taken into account that the social system at that time was based on a conservative image of the family. This saw the man as the main earner and breadwinner and the woman as his “appendage” who was also heavily dependent on him for social security.
“This has created imbalances in the AHV. Especially if marriages ended in divorce or if a husband died. Then the women’s pension was suddenly lower because it was no longer calculated based on the husband’s income, so to speak,” explains Lengwiler. These imbalances should be compensated for by a lower retirement age for women.
Apart from these adjustments, the retirement age in Switzerland has remained the same for decades, which is exceptional in international comparison, says Christian Koller.
“The debate has come up again and again, of course also from the perspective of financing. Basically: the longer people live and still retire at the same time, the more it costs. However, a general increase in the retirement age has never been included in a proposal. Because that would obviously have had a difficult time at the ballot box.”
Discussion about retirement age is back in the foreground
Recently, however, the aspect of how the AHV should be financed in the future has given renewed impetus to the debate about the retirement age. Life expectancy in Switzerland is increasing. The increasing number of pensioners who receive AHV are offset by fewer and fewer employed people who pay into AHV.