Tag Archives: Personal finance

Married couples in Switzerland are taxed together on their combined income, something that is not applied to unmarried couples who are taxed individually. This often acts as a tax disincentive for one member of a married couple to work, disproportionately affecting women. Politicians and organisations focused on improving women’s career chances would like to see this combined taxing of income go, something the Federal Council has been working on. Photo by Emma Bauso on Pexels.comHowever,...

Switzerland’s much discussed work pension reform was accepted by parliament this week after a number of changes, reported Parlament.ch. Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.comLike Switzerland state pension, compulsory work pensions are under strain as the population ages and people live longer. This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted 113 versus 69 in favour of a package of reforms. Key reforms include lowering annuity rates from 6.8% to 6% and transitionary top up payments, but only...

Buying has become much more expensive than renting in Switzerland, according to a report by the bank Credit Suisse. Photo by Curtis Adams on Pexels.comThe market for owner-occupied homes is currently undergoing a reversal of fortunes, triggered by the spike in mortgage interest rates in 2022, said the bank. Although owners enjoyed unprecedented low mortgage rates for a decade, rates have more than doubled over the past year. After 13 years, buying is more expensive than renting again....

Four times a year the rate of interest used to set the rents in Switzerland is reviewed. If the aggregate average mortgage rate goes down some renters can request lower rent. If it goes up some landlords can raise rents. This time the rate remained at 1.25%, however it was close to moving to 1.5%. Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.comThe interest rate used to set the rent reference rate was the average rate on Swiss mortgage loans outstanding at 31 December 2022. The average rate this...

In December 2022, parliament sent a recommendation to the Federal Council to increase state pensions by the rate of inflation. However, this week a parliamentary majority voted not to, reported RTS. © Mcxas | Dreamstime.comThe Federal Council had already boosted state pensions by 2.5% from 1 January 2023 before calls were made to bump them up by 2.8% in line with the increase in the consumer price index (CPI) in 2022. On 1 March 2023, 97 versus 92 (1 abstention) members of parliament...

Upward pressure on prices continues in Switzerland. Recently published data show annual inflation rising to 3.3% to the end of January 2023, up from 2.8% at the end of 2022. © Sam Lee | Dreamstime.comPublic sector workers in parts of Switzerland have been demanding salary increases. In Vaud they have been demanding indexation. Looking back across a longer period of time Swiss inflation doesn’t look so bad. Between the end of 2010 and the end of 2022, prices have risen by 2.5%. Focusing...

On 15 February 2023, Switzerland’s federal government published finalised figures showing it spent CHF 4.3 billion more than it received in 2022. Excluding extraordinary expenses related to the Covid pandemic left an underlying operating deficit of CHF 1.9 billion, the first shortfall of this kind since 2005. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s federal government is required to operate under a system known as a debt brake. This requires it to achieve a breakeven budget over a...

After a rising number of attacks on cash machines across Switzerland, Migros Bank has decided it will probably close all of its machines overnight, reported RTS. © Denis Linine | Dreamstime.comLast year, at least 38 cash dispensing machines were blown up and robbed across Switzerland. The most recent attack at the end of January 2023 was on a machine in the town of Neuendorf in the canton of Solothurn. In 2021, the explosive charge used on one machine was so large that it destroyed...

Since 1 December 2022, contracts that online platforms often get hotels to sign to stop them offering prices lower than those offered via the platform are no longer legally enforceable in Switzerland due to a change in law. This week, broadcaster RTS published the results of a market test it performed to see if the legal change had had any effect. © Boumenjapet | Dreamstime.comRTS checked the prices of 287 rooms across Switzerland directly on hotels’ own websites and via the platform...

Accident insurer Suva recorded a record number of recreation-related accidents in 2022, reported RTS. Photo by Irene Lasus on Pexels.comSuva, a not-for-profit insurance company in Switzerland, insures around 2 million individuals in Switzerland every year. In 2022, it recorded around 290,000 non-work related accidents, a record figure, 14% higher than in 2021 and 4% higher than before the pandemic in 2019. A large number of accidents occurred outside, suggesting that the good weather...