AVS pensions should be fully adapted to inflation by 2023. The Chamber of Cantons on Monday accepted two motions from the Center and the PS to this effect against the opinion of the Federal Council. The National had done the same last Wednesday.
Rising energy prices weigh on the wallets of the Swiss. The parties are unanimous in saying that support measures are needed. A good dozen proposals were on the table. Only two with similar content passed the ramp by 24 votes against 17, with one vote for the second, thanks to an alliance of the Center and the PS.
Pirmin Bischof (Centre / SO) and Paul Rechsteiner (PS / SG) want an extraordinary adjustment of AVS and AI pensions so as to fully compensate for the increase by January 1, 2023 at the latest. The adjustment of pensions should also be regular in the event of an increase in cost of more than 2% in one year.
Today, pensions are adjusted on the basis of the mixed index, ie according to the development of prices and wages. For Pirmin Bischof, retirees will be penalized by inflation this year while wages are barely increasing.
A proven index
Andrea Caroni (PLR / AR) criticized a measure that was not targeted enough. In addition, the mixed index system has so far proven itself. A point confirmed by the head of the Federal Department of the Interior Alain Berset.
This mechanism has allowed rents to rise by 19% between 2000 and 2021 while the increase in prices was only 8%, recalled the Minister The National will have to decide once again on the two motions of the Councilors to the States, the title being very slightly different. Last Wednesday, he narrowly accepted this proposal.
It should be noted that the annuities must be indexed on January 1, 2023 in accordance with the rule of an adjustment provided for every two years. This indexation can be done exceptionally once a year in the event of high inflation which would exceed 4% per year.
Health premiums
The Council of States prefers to temporize on two other motions from the PS and the Center aimed at cushioning the shock of the increase in health premiums. By 21 votes to 19, he returned to the committee the two again similar texts by Marina Carobbio (PS / TI) and Isabelle Chassot (Centre / FR). The National had adopted the same proposal with two votes last Wednesday.
The two state councilors are asking to increase the Confederation’s contribution to the individual reduction of premiums by 30% in 2023 by means of an urgent federal decree limited to one year. The additional amount would be paid to the cantons, provided that they do not reduce their own contributions.
For the narrow majority on the right supported by the elected representatives of the Centre, it is better to wait for the opinion of the commission. Isabelle Chassot expects a new debate in the winter session. Charles Juillard (Center / JU) considers it important to know to whom this additional aid would go. The Federal Council was also opposed to such a measure.
More transparency for fuels
The senators also supported the idea of a fuel, gas and electricity price calculator at service stations and charging stations in Switzerland. This system known in Austria since 2011 would require service stations to announce their prices in real time to the state. The National has yet to decide.
All other solutions to help the population have been swept away. Marco Chiesa (UDC / TI) proposed, for example, to lower the price of gasoline by abolishing the tax on mineral oils, to deduct sickness premiums from direct federal tax, or to abolish the taxation of the rental value for retirees. He did not even get the full vote in his party.
The left has had no more success with the idea of an annual energy allowance or a “federal check” for the most modest. Carlo Sommaruga (PS/GE) warned in vain of a risk of increasing poverty in Switzerland, which will also affect the middle class.
Federal Councilors Ueli Maurer and Guy Parmelin reiterated that inflation reached 3.5% in Switzerland, or a third of what it is in European countries. It is not appropriate for the state to intervene under these conditions, they stressed.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats