2023-06-22 17:25:15
At retirement age, women receive 20,000 francs less in pensions per year, according to a study by the insurer Swiss Life published on Thursday. This persistent gap with men is explained by a lower proportion of women contributing to the 2nd pillar, career paths that are more frequently interrupted or even wage inequalities.
Women over 65 received, on average, about a third less in pensions. These figures match those of the Federal Statistical Office. According to the OFS, the average pension for women in Switzerland is around 36,000 francs per year, while that for men is close to 55,000 francs.
This difference has not changed in recent years. It affects more markedly women who live alone. Those in a couple have a higher standard of living, since the partner’s pension also contributes to the household budget. Thus, according to the Swiss Life study, a woman who lives alone will have a monthly pension up to 1100 francs lower than that of a man living alone.
Fewer 2nd pillar contributions
Why do we arrive at such discrepancies? At the level of the 1st pillar, that is to say the AVS, the pensions are practically identical. But this is far from being the case for occupational pensions. Firstly, only half of women receive this 2nd pillar, compared to three quarters of men.
Second, the amount affected is much lower. At issue: career development and family patterns. Women interrupt their professional activity more often and work more part-time. This has an impact on final 2nd pillar savings.
Slow changes
This income gap is not diminishing, firstly because income differences between men and women persist. Regarding the years before retirement, women earn on average half as much as men.
Moreover, if society evolves, the changes are not yet perceptible at the level of the generation currently in retirement. Swiss Life also believes that the gap “should narrow in the future”, but “slowly”.
The insurer observes this positive development among its customers. In 2010, the BVG assets of working women aged 50 were on average half that of men of the same age. In 2022, the difference will only reach a third.
But the road is still long. Switzerland is also a bad student in international comparison. Most European countries have smaller pension differences between men and women than ours. For example, the gap is only 2% in Estonia and a little over 7% in Denmark, against, as we recall, over 30% in Switzerland.
Loïc Delacour/friend
1687459091
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