The winter session is currently going on in the Bundestag building – one of the topics being the revision of the AHV. If the birth rate continues to fall or if it remains at a relatively low level and no more people are moving to Switzerland, then aging is likely to become a problem with pensions in the short to medium term. Then a particularly large number of older recipients are faced with fewer and fewer paid payers.
Even now, the pension is barely enough for many to survive. According to “NZZ am Sonntag” (paid items), one fifth of retirees would have no assets whatsoever. But: The gap between rich and poor among pensioners is great, it continues. And so, according to a study by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, retirees have by far the greatest wealth – and can even increase them. On average, the assets of a person between 65 and 90 years of age would grow from CHF 400,000 to CHF 600,000.
This would make Switzerland a special case, because abroad the development would often run the other way round, says study author Nora Meuli of the newspaper. «Our analysis shows that ‹Dismissing ›in old age does not take place for many.” A large number of pensioners would earn enough “to be able to put money aside even in retirement,” adds Professor Marius Brülhart from Lausanne. Inheritance is one reason for this. In figures, this means: 90 billion francs are passed on to inheritances every year – often to people who have already retired.