National Council calls for counter-proposal: pension initiative on the cutting edge

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The pension initiative had already almost failed in the National Council. A rejection request to the Commission to reopen the case was rejected on Monday evening. A razor-thin vote of 90 to 89, with one abstention.

FDP national councilor Andri Silberschmidt (29) kept the template in extremis with a request for order. There were empty seats in the vote that are no longer empty. And indeed: at the second attempt, the motion was passed with 93 votes in favour, 92 against and two abstentions.

Few spoke for the initiative

Like the Federal Council and the Council of States, the National Council does not want to link the AHV age to life expectancy. He also rejected the Young Liberals’ pension initiative. At the same time, a razor-thin majority wants the preliminary advisory committee to at least draw up a debt brake in the AHV as an indirect counter-proposal.

Before today’s debate in the Council, there was little indication that things could get so tight. The Bundesrat had wanted nothing to do with the initiative – nor with a counter-proposal. The Council of States also clearly rejected the initiative in March. After the people voted yes to the AHV-21 bill, many did not think it appropriate to adjust the retirement age again.

AHV debt brake must bring salvation

If it is up to the young liberals, we will soon work up to the age of 66 – or even longer. The pension initiative of the young party advocates raising the retirement age for both sexes. In a first step, it should rise from age 65 to age 66 and then be linked to life expectancy: it should increase by 0.8 months for each additional month of life expectancy.

Federal Councilor Alain Berset (51) warned that such an automatism would deprive parliament and voters of too much room for manoeuvre. A mix of measures is needed. The Council of States shares these concerns.

It was also clear to the supporters that the pension initiative would also have a hard time in the National Council. To salvage what can be salvaged, the FDP and GLP proposed that the bill be returned to the responsible committee – combined with the task of working out a bill for an AHV debt brake at the legislative level as an indirect counter-proposal.

“If no measures are taken, the AHV bill will fall into the red,” argued FDP Reich Councilor Regina Sauter (57). “We have to take our responsibility and not just wait and hope.” GLP colleague Melanie Mettler (45) took the same line.

The subject of AHV continues to make waves. 44 speakers had announced themselves. In the election year, hardly anyone wants to voluntarily miss the platform. The debate lasted four hours.

“The timing of the initiative couldn’t be worse”

The center lives up to its promise, emphasizes Christian Lohr (61). Only last fall did voters vote yes to raising the retirement age for women to 65. From next year it will gradually be adapted to that of men. Therefore, there should be no further increase now.

“The timing of the initiative could not have been worse,” says SP National Councilor Flavia Wasserfallen (44). The initiative would again mean a hefty bill for people, while many are already suffering from declining purchasing power due to rising rents or rising health insurance premiums.

For SVP parliamentary party leader Thomas Aeschi (44), an automatic increase in the retirement age would “definitely overload the load”. In addition, Parliament has already instructed the Bundesrat to present a solution by the end of 2026 to stabilize the AHV in the long term.

Concerns about the sustainable financing of old-age provision ultimately outweighed the FDP, GLP and SVP – albeit by a hair’s breadth. The responsible committee now has a lot of work to do.

Source:Blick