Trade unions and SP Referendum launched against pension fund reform

Opponents of the BVG reform recently passed by Parliament are making good on their threat of a referendum: on Friday, they began collecting signatures against the BVG reform.

Keystone-SDA

31.03.2023, 10:13

08.10.2025, 11:24

SDA, gbi

An alliance of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), the umbrella organization Travail Suisse, the Unia trade union, the VPOD trade union and the SP Switzerland launched a referendum against the BVG reform in front of the media in Bern on Friday.

Representatives said that the amendment to the Federal Law on Occupational Retirement, Survivors' and Disability Pension Plans passed by Parliament would lead to pension losses and "massive additional costs for normal earners".

In order for the referendum to take place and for the people to be able to vote, the alliance must collect 50,000 valid signatures by July 6.

Part of the transitional generation should receive a supplement

With the BVG reform, the Federal Assembly wants to make occupational pensions fit for the future. Due to the ageing of society, pension funds have recently had to spend more money on financing current pensions than had previously been saved by employers and employees.

The conversion rate for calculating pensions is to be reduced from 6.8 to 6.0 percent. According to parliament's plans, this will be compensated for by a supplement to the pension for part of a transitional generation. This is in the event that the pension fund assets saved do not exceed a certain threshold. Around half of the transitional cohorts are to benefit.

Speaking to the media on Friday, SGB President Pierre-Yves Maillard said that the reform was out of date. It ignores the turnaround in interest rates and inflation. Pensions should be increased, not reduced.

SP Co-President Mattea Meyer said that a 50-year-old, compulsorily insured person with a gross monthly income of CHF 4,500 would pay CHF 147 more in salary contributions per month in future - but would receive CHF 8 less in pension.

She had already explained her rejection in an earlier interview with blue News: "The aim of this bill was to secure pensions. And to improve pensions for people with low incomes - especially women who often work part-time," she said. "But in parliament, the conservative parties took the reins and created a bill that in some cases not even conservative business associations support."

It was also said several times at the media conference that the pension reform was being carried out at the expense of women and would only benefit the financial industry. Adrian Wüthrich, President of Travail Suisse, said that the costs of the pension funds should be addressed instead of cutting pensions.

A good proposal for the middle classes

In the eyes of a middle-class majority in the federal parliament, however, the bill is well targeted and capable of winning a majority. The left opposed the bill during the debate in both chambers and announced a referendum.