Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

The gap between Switzerland’s official retirement age – 65 for men and 64 for women – and average life expectancy is long. Life expectancy at 65 is 20 years for men (85) and 23 for women (88). © Andor Bujdoso | Dreamstime.com More and more people are questioning the viability of living for two decades or more without working, particularly when the population is aging and the pension system is crumbling. However, rather than raising the official retirement age, some favour financial incentives...

In 2018, Switzerland and the EU struck a deal to extend Swiss stock market equivalence until 30 June 2019, a date fast approaching. © Marc Bruxelle _ Dreamstime.com Stock market equivalence makes a trade on the Swiss stock exchange equivalent to a trade on an exchange in an EU country. This allows trades to be pooled across countries, something that supports global trade and improves international market liquidity, a win-win for all traders. For this reason, the Swiss Bankers Association...

© Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com One idea for containing rising healthcare costs was to remove the possibility of changing health insurance deductibles every year, making it possible only every three years. If people are able to switch from high to low deductibles annually then they can save money by opting for a high deductible one year, while postponing visits to the doctor until the following year when they opt...

One idea for containing rising healthcare costs was to remove the possibility of changing health insurance deductibles every year, making it possible only every three years. © Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com If people are able to switch from high to low deductibles annually then they can save money by opting for a high deductible one year, while postponing visits to the doctor until the following year when they opt for a low one. Locking deductibles for three years would reduce this...

The National Council, Switzerland’s parliament, supported a motion that would end the transfer of debt from unpaid health insurance premiums to young adults, according to 20 Minutes. © Fizkes | Dreamstime.com Under the current system, when young adults reach the age of 18 they must pay any health insurance premiums that were not paid on their behalf by their parents when they were children. Recently, 174 members of parliament voted to stop this practice. Only 2 voted not to. Some young Swiss...

A ranking by Elite Traveler placed the restaurant Hôtel de Ville de Crissier first in a list of the world’s 100 best restaurants, eight places higher than last year. © RESTAURANT DE L’HÔTEL DE VILLE The ranking is based on the votes of readers of the magazine, which is distributed to private jet companies around the world. Franck Giovannini, the restaurant’s chef, follows a long line of award winning chefs at the restaurant who include Frédy Girardet, Philippe Rochat and Benoît Violier. The...

The Swiss Hotel Association recorded a 0.7% increase in overnight stays during the 2018/2019 winter season. © Nikittta | Dreamstime.com From November to April, 16.7 million overnight stays were recorded in Switzerland, 8.8 million by foreign visitors and 7.9 million by Swiss travelers. The increase was highest among foreign visitors. Nights spent by foreign visitors rose 1% to 8.8 million nights. The steepest rise was among Americans who spent an extra 71,000 nights in Swiss hotels, a rise of...

The National Council, Switzerland’s parliament, rejected a motion to force Swiss mobile phone operators to remove EU roaming charges. 99 voted against, 78 for and 14 abstained, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. © Georgejmclittle | Dreamstime.com In 2017, the European Union (EU) forced EU operators to stop charging their customers extra for calls made outside their home country but within the EU. This left Swiss mobile phone users among the few still paying extra for calls in neighbouring...

Next Friday, 14 June 2019, women across Switzerland plan to go on strike as part of a global movement calling for gender equality and an end to violence against women. Source: Facebook – grevefeministe Over the last 10 years, an average of 25 people have been killed annually as a result of domestic violence in Switzerland. 75% of the victims were women or girls. Women are more likely than men to be victims of other more prevalent forms of domestic violence too, and foreign women and girls in...

Every year, Lausanne-based IMD business school publishes its global competitiveness ranking. Switzerland climbed from 5th last year to 4th behind Singapore, Hong Kong and the US. Venezuela (63rd) was last. © Bogdan Lazar | Dreamstime.com The ranking, established in 1989, incorporates 235 indicators and takes into account a wide range of “hard” statistics such as unemployment, GDP and government spending on health and education, as well as “soft” data from an survey of business leaders...