Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

© Sergei Babenko | Dreamstime.com In 2016, the social security office in Zurich discovered a concealed bank account containing CHF 1 million belonging to a deceased man who had received welfare payments for 13 years, reported RTS. Over the 13 years, the man had received financial hardship payments, known as supplemental benefits, and health insurance subsidies amounting to CHF 140,000. When applying for hardship payments in Switzerland, all wealth must be declared....

In 2016, the social security office in Zurich discovered a concealed bank account containing CHF 1 million belonging to a deceased man who had received welfare payments for 13 years, reported RTS. © Sergei Babenko | Dreamstime.comOver the 13 years, the man had received financial hardship payments, known as supplemental benefits, and health insurance subsidies amounting to CHF 140,000. When applying for hardship payments in Switzerland, all wealth must be declared. In general, an...

Those with a migration background in Switzerland are on average financially worse off than those without, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office. And those with a migration background pay on average 10% more per square metre of living space than the rest of the population. © | Dreamstime.comIn Switzerland, around 20% of those with a migration background have trouble making ends meet, compared to 7% of the rest of the population. On average, people without a migration...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Switzerland’s four largest buildings insurers estimate the costs of recent weather events could reach half a billion francs across Switzerland, reported RTS. According to Grégoire Deiss, who works for the cantonal buildings insurer ECAB in Fribourg, the cost of recent storms and flooding could be around CHF 500 million across all of Switzerland, a figure he based on claims that have been made so far.

Currently, the Swiss supermarket Migros does not sell alcoholic drinks in its stores. Gottlieb Duttweiler, the retailer’s founder, instituted the policy to promote public health when the company was started in 1925. © Tea | Dreamstime.comHowever, this autumn, the management of the cooperative is planning to vote on whether to allow alcohol on to the the company’s shelves for the first time, according to watson.ch and Le Matin Dimanche. Migros’ no-alcohol rule is already fraying at the...

Switzerland’s four largest buildings insurers estimate the costs of recent weather events could reach half a billion francs across Switzerland, reported RTS. © Angela Schmidt | Dreamstime.comAccording to Grégoire Deiss, who works for the cantonal buildings insurer ECAB in Fribourg, the cost of recent storms and flooding could be around CHF 500 million across all of Switzerland, a figure he based on claims that have been made so far. However, the final bill remains uncertain. More...

The youth chapter of the PLR (FDP) has successfully collected enough signatures for an initiative to raise the official retirement age in Switzerland to 66 years old, reported RTS. © Skypixel | Dreamstime.comOn 16 July 2021, initiative organisers submitted 145,000 voter signatures as part of the formal process of launching a referendum in Switzerland. Under referendum rules a minimum of 100,000 valid signatures must be collected within 18 months. The official retirement age in...

According to a report by the newspaper Le Matin, some testing centres in Switzerland are charging for rapid antigen tests despite the federal government announcing it would cover the cost of these tests. © Seventyfourimages | Dreamstime.com With many holiday destinations still requiring negative Covid-19 tests as a condition of entry, those heading across borders for the summer holidays will need to get tested before heading to the airport or getting on the road or...

On 14 July 2021, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation reported that it had been told by the European Commission that Switzerland will be treated as a non-associated third country in the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. © Thamrongpat Theerathammakorn | Dreamstime.comThis means that Switzerland can only participate in limited ways. It can put forward proposals to some projects but will not qualify for funding. As a work around, the...

Normally, those who borrow must pay out more money than they are lent in the form of interest and repayments. Currently, for the Swiss government it is the other way around. Lenders are paying the Swiss federal government to give it money. © Valeriya Luzina | Dreamstime.comOn 14 July 2021, the Swiss Confederation announced the success of its latest issue of government bonds. The government recently issued bonds with a face value of CHF 934 million in return for CHF 1,078 million, netting...