Tag Archives: Personal finance

This article was first published on 365 club.ch Residents of Switzerland have long grumbled about the nation’s high prices compared to neighbouring countries.  On 19 March 2021, the government moved a step closer to removing two of the competitive barriers inflating Swiss prices. © Ocskay Mark | Dreamstime.comThere are many factors behind Switzerland’s high prices. Chief among them are exclusive import arrangements that allow foreign brand owners to force higher prices on to...

© Germana Marengo | Dreamstime.com As Switzerland’s population ages the number of people paid state pension is rising relative to the number of workers funding it. Since 2014, more has been paid out than has been paid in. The most effective way to fix this imbalance is to raise the pension age. If the average life expectancy of a retiree is 15 years, then raising the pension age by one year will cut the cost by nearly 7%. Switzerland is one of a few countries that...

As Switzerland’s population ages the number of people paid state pension is rising relative to the number of workers funding it. Since 2014, more has been paid out than has been paid in. © Germana Marengo | Dreamstime.comThe most effective way to fix this imbalance is to raise the pension age. If the average life expectancy of a retiree is 15 years, then raising the pension age by one year will cut the cost by nearly 7%. Switzerland is one of a few countries that still has a lower...

© Nikiforov Oleg | Dreamstime.com The economic impact of the Covid-​19 pandemic has hit low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. Infection rates rise with income More people in the higher income range reported being infected with Covid-19 than those in lower income groups. Among those with incomes below CHF 4,000, 4% said they had tested positive and a further 8%...

The economic impact of the Covid-​19 pandemic was unequal, hitting low-income households far harder than those on high incomes, according to a study published by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich. © Nikiforov Oleg | Dreamstime.comInfection rates rise with incomeMore people in the higher income range reported being infected with Covid-19 than those in lower income groups. Among those with incomes below CHF 4,000 (US$ 4,400), 4% said they had tested positive and a further 8%...

© Marekusz | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s federal accounts ended 2020 with a record-breaking deficit of CHF 15.8 billion. The deficit was caused by the pandemic. An unexpected CHF 3.6 billion fall in revenue combined with net CHF 12.5 billion in largely unplanned expenses combined to take the overall result CHF 16.1 billion below the expected positive net result of CHF 0.3 billion to deliver a loss of CHF 15.8 billion for the year. Pandemic-related expenditure...

© Sam Wordley | Dreamstime.com In 2019, the poverty line in Switzerland was CHF 27,348 (US$ 30,500) for a single person and CHF 47,712 (US$ 53,200) for a couple with two young children. The figures are calculated by SKOS based on the cost of living in Switzerland. People with incomes below these levels in Switzerland are considered to by living in poverty. In 2019, 8.7% of Switzerland’s population was living on less that these amounts, up 0.8 percentage points from...

After falling by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2020, average Swiss residential property prices have rebounded, rising in every quarter since to deliver an annual 2020 increase of 2.5%. © Stbernardstudio | Dreamstime.comAverage residential property prices rose by 1.4% in Q2, by 0.2% in Q3 and by 2.3% in the final quarter of 2020. Across the year, the prices of single family dwellings (+2.8%) rose more than the price of apartments (+2.2%). The biggest gainers were single family homes in...

The rate of unemployment in Switzerland in the 4th quarter of 2020 was 4.9%, up from 3.9% in the 4th quarter of 2019. The same figures for the EU were 6.6% (Q4 2109) and 7.5% (Q4 2020). © Sergiomonti | Dreamstime.comUnemployment rates were highest among those aged 15-24 (7.3%) and 25-39 (5.4%). Those aged 40-54 (4.6%) and 55-64 (3.9%) had the lowest rates. The statistics don’t cover workers older than 64. In the 4th quarter of 2020, Swiss nationals (3.9%) fared better than foreigners...

Switzerland’s federal accounts ended 2020 with a record-breaking deficit of CHF 15.8 billion. The deficit was caused by the pandemic. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comAn unexpected CHF 3.6 billion fall in revenue combined with net CHF 12.5 billion in largely unplanned expenses combined to take the overall result CHF 16.1 billion below the expected positive net result of CHF 0.3 billion to deliver a deficit of CHF 15.8 billion for the year. Pandemic-related expenditure amounted to CHF 14.7...