Tag Archives: 3.) Personal Finance

Overall, in 2021, Swiss salaries shrunk by 0.2% in nominal terms and by 0.8% in real terms, given an annual rate of inflation of 0.6% across the year, reported the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.comHowever, when broken down, women saw an overall increase in pay of 0.6% while men on average saw pay fall by 0.7%. The difference reflects differences in the type of work undertaken by men and women. Pay for public sector...

© Debove Eric | Dreamstime.com Food, energy and housing costs are rising in Switzerland and consumers are beginning to change their spending habits. So far inflation in Switzerland has been moderate with annual inflation of 2.5%. However, according to FRC, a consumer association in French-speaking Switzerland, recent price rises are only the beginning, reported RTS. The biggest driver of Swiss inflation is energy where prices have leapt 25%. This appears to be...

As the prices of fossil fuels skyrocket and further supply and price uncertainty looms, many are seeking ways to cut the amount they spend on home energy. A publication by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) shows where savings can be made. Photo by Eva Penner Martens on Pexels.comRecent rises in the prices of fossil fuels highlight the paradox at the heart of efforts to reduce climate change. As environmentalists we want the world to burn less wood, coal, gas...

Statistics published on 26 April 2022 show health expenditure in Switzerland rose to CHF 9,648 (US$ 10,8001) per person in 2020, making Switzerland (probably) the second biggest per-capita healthcare spender in the world – the OECD has not yet published 2020 expenditure for the US, which is typically the world’s highest spender. Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.comHealthcare spending rose 1% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to Switzerland’s Federal Statistical...

Switzerland’s retirement age of 65 for men and 64 for women puts its state pensioners in the youngest half of OECD retirees. Photo by MART PRODUCTION on Pexels.comThis week, when a Swiss parliamentarian asked in which direction pension reform was heading, he received a written response that said the state pension system could be stabilised from 2030 with a rise in the retirement age to 68 for both men and women, reported the NZZ newspaper. Many nations have...

© Zsv3207 | Dreamstime.com This week, Switzerland’s government set a date for the introduction of more generous tax deductions for childcare. From 1 January 2023, parents will be able to deduct up to CHF 25,000 per child in childcare costs from their annual taxable income, reported RTS. Currently, the maximum is CHF 10,100 per child. The change is the result of a new law that was created in autumn last year. Only external expenses incurred for the care of children...

© Bekirugur Bekir Ugur | Dreamstime.com In October 2021, Switzerland’s government created a law requiring online streaming services to pay money into a Swiss cinema fund. Under the law, from 2024, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ will need to pay a levy equivalent to 4% of their Swiss turnover into the fund, which would be spent on producing Swiss films. A group of young politicians objecting to the 4% surcharge on streaming services decided to organise...

© Giuseppe De Filippo | Dreamstime.com The latest Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey of the prices of 200 goods and services in 173 cities placed both Geneva and Zurich in the top 10 most expensive cities in 2021. Overall, the cost of living across these 173 cities has risen by an average of 3.5%, the highest inflation seen in the last 5 years. This compares with inflation of just 1.9% in 2020 and 2.8% in 2019. Supply-chain problems, as well as exchange-rate...

© Petrina Calabalic | Dreamstime.com The gross mean household income in Switzerland was CHF 114,984 (US$ 125,000) in 2019, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Overall, 40% of households in Switzerland had income over this mean while 60% brought in less. 73% of this income came from working, 23% came from pensions, welfare and household transfers such as alimony, and 4% from investment income. In many places an income this high would offer a life of...

© Marlon Trottmann _ Dreamstime.com This week, the Federal Council rejected two very different initiatives aimed at changing the state pension system. In common with much of the developed world, Switzerland is facing a large gap between the money required to fund state pensions and the money flowing in to pay for them, a challenge driven by increasing life expectancy, a rise in the number of pensioners as the population ages and the way the system is funded....