According to data released on 28 August 2022, Switzerland will have around 1.7 million people aged 65 and over at the end of 2021, representing 19% of the population.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), by 2021, one in five women and one in six men will be over the age of 64. Switzerland’s dependency ratio is the ratio of the population aged 64 and over divided by the working-age population.1, reaching a record high of 31.1% in 2021. In 1985, Switzerland’s dependency rate was 24.5%, 6.6 points lower than hers.
The sharp rise in Switzerland’s dependency rate is driven by two factors. One is declining birth rates and the other is increasing life expectancy. Between 1985 and 2021, life expectancy at birth increased by 7.5 years for men and he by 4.9 years for women. Life expectancy at age 65 increased by 4.4 years for men and 3.5 years for women. Currently, a man who lives to 65 can expect him to live to 84.3, and a woman can expect him to live to 87.2.
Declining fertility threatens longer life expectancy, pushing the Swiss pension system into the red.
Extending the working age by four years to 68 would bring the Swiss dependency rate back to 24.3%, just below the 24.5% in 1985. An extra 4 years is about the same as the increase in life expectancy from 1985 to 2021 when he was 65 (+4.4 for men and +3.5 for women).
On September 25, 2022, Swiss voters will vote on the government’s plan to reform the pension system. One element of this is equalizing the retirement age for both men and women at 65. Her current age is 64.
Some politicians advocate a system that links retirement age and life expectancy. But there is currently resistance to the government’s plan to raise the retirement age for women by one year.
detail:
FSO press release (French) – Take the 5 minute French test now
1 20-64 years old.
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