2023-06-05 19:40:01
The Swiss should not work until the age of 66 to receive the AVS, as requested by the initiative of the Young PLR. The National showed on Monday that it did not want this text. But he calls for a counter-project which should provide for a brake on first-pillar debt.
The initiative plans to raise the AVS retirement age to 66 for everyone. Once this stage is reached, the increase would be linked to life expectancy.
The population is worried about its purchasing power, it has just accepted the increase in the pension for women at 65, recalled Benjamin Roduit (Center / VS) on behalf of the commission. “It is unthinkable to demand further sacrifices.” The promise to give up a new increase, made during the voting campaign on the AVS21 reform, must be kept.
The mechanism proposed by the initiative is far too rigid, Mr. Roduit continued. It does not take into account the actual situation of older workers. And life expectancy depends on people’s state of health, socio-professional categories, etc. To finance the AVS in the long term, a global solution is needed. The initiative plays only on a lever.
Read also: Retirement at 66? Even on the right, the solution repels
AHV bankrupt?
The left has denounced in turn an initiative of “infinite sadness”, “above ground”, “completely out of step with the reality of the country”, which deeply affects the links between generations. The AVS is also not bankrupt, hammered Pierre-Yves Maillard (PS / VD). She has a fortune of 47 billion francs.
For the PLR, the AVS is on the contrary on the way to red numbers, because of demography. In 1948, there were more than six workers to pay a retiree’s pension. Today there are only three. In 2050, the ratio should be 2.2 to 1, noted Damien Cottier (PLR / NE).
The children of the 2050s should not pay for those of this decade, retorted Philippe Nantermod (PLR / VS) by defending the initiative, of which he is a member of the committee. Other European countries have already taken the step of adjusting the retirement age to life expectancy, such as the Netherlands. “Have the courage to act, even in an election year,” he told his colleagues.
Counter-project to be developed
The green liberal party did not want the initiative, but it proposed to refer the file to the committee to draw up an indirect counter-project. “The financing of baby-boomer pensions is problematic, as it stands. Solidarity between generations is no longer guaranteed,” said Bernese Melanie Mettler. This indirect counter-project should introduce a debt brake mechanism for the AVS.
Parliament has already “placed an order” for a new reform by the end of 2026 on an AVS stabilization project for the period from 2030 to 2040, recalled Interior Minister Alain Berset. In this context, a mix of elements must be taken into account. And not just demography, concluded the Federal Councilor, calling for the rejection of both the text and a possible counter-project.
The SVP changes its mind
A dramatic change after five hours of debate at the National: while the Chamber seemed to be heading towards a clear refusal of the initiative without a counter-project, the UDC changed its position. Contrary to what its parliamentary group leader Thomas Aeschi (ZG) had announced at the start of the debates, the conservative party finally supported the PLR and the PVL in their attempt to impose a counter-project.
The vote had to be repeated. The Zurich PLR Andi Silberschmidt noticed that a few people were missing from the room and asked to vote again. The National finally supported the referral to committee by 93 votes against 92 and 1 abstention, to the chagrin of the left and the Center. The Chamber will formally decide on the text of the Young PLR and on a future counter-project during a future session.
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