Failed BVG reform Federal Council and Parliament face a shambles

Switzerland has decided on two national proposals: The BVG reform and the biodiversity initiative. You can find all the results live here.

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6.25 p.m.

Pension fund reform: Federal Council and parliament face a shambles after BVG rejection

The verdict on the BVG reform was overwhelmingly clear on Sunday: 67% of voters said no. All cantons rejected the proposal. Only 26 out of 2126 municipalities supported the pension fund reform. The no vote at the ballot box came as no surprise in view of the polls prior to the vote. However, the clarity of the result is surprising.

Lukas Golder, political scientist at gfs.bern, spoke on Swiss television SRF of a "slap in the face" and a "slap in the face" for the Federal Council and parliament. Golder's colleague Urs Bieri analyzed that there was no common awareness of the problem.

5.46 p.m.

Pension fund reform: Baume-Schneider pleads for smaller reform steps after BVG rejection

Social Affairs Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider does not want to stick with the status quo after the resounding "no" to the pension fund reform. Occupational pension provision must be adapted. In order for this to succeed, smaller reform steps will probably be necessary.

"We now have to set priorities," Baume-Schneider told the media in Bern on the evening of Sunday's vote. Smaller reform steps are less complex, more transparent and could convince a majority. "We see that major reforms are not successful."

For the Federal Council, the situation of people with low incomes is paramount. Many women continue to receive only a small pension or none at all from the occupational pension scheme. The lowering of the entry threshold and the adjustment to the coordination deduction planned with the BVG reform have been dropped. These issues must now be resolved soon.

2.11 p.m.

Trade association calls for higher retirement age

Following the No to the BVG reform, the Swiss Trade Association wants to advocate a gradual increase in the retirement age. An ambitious AHV reform is needed that takes demographic change into account. This would also strengthen the second pillar.

In a communiqué on Sunday, the Swiss Trade Association (SGV) accused the left of opposing the bill for ideological reasons. "The reform would have increased the employability of older workers and brought significant improvements, especially for people with lower incomes and those working part-time."

2.09 pm

SP calls for climate investments - FDP relies on personal responsibility

The SP regrets the no to the biodiversity initiative in Sunday's vote. Major public investment is needed to counter species extinction and climate change. The biodiversity initiative would have enabled important progress to be made in the protection of plant and animal species, the SP regretted in a communiqué. "We are faced with the challenge that biodiversity is decreasing year after year and extreme weather events are increasing", SP Co-President and National Councillor Cédric Wermuth (AG) was quoted as saying.

The FDP, on the other hand, was pleased with the rejection of the "extreme" initiative. The electorate had seen through the issue. Biodiversity was also a concern for the FDP. However, the initiative would have missed the target. It would have prevented the development of mountain areas and made building more expensive. In order to preserve biodiversity, quality rather than quantity was needed. The party also trusts in the personal responsibility of those involved.

1.56 p.m.

Maillard calls for more solidarity in pension fund pensions

Following the "no" to the pension fund reform, Pierre-Yves Maillard, President of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions, is calling for more solidarity in the financing of pensions. The result of the vote shows that the bourgeois parties have lost the trust of their base.

The No vote of almost 70 percent was "really unexpected", the Vaud councillor told SRF on Sunday. The population does not want any further pension cuts. "This reality must finally reach parliament."

The base of the SVP and FDP is very clearly against the pension fund bill, the President of the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB) continued. "But the leaders of these parties are not listening to their base."

1.33 p.m.

Greens want care credits in the second pillar

The Greens have expressed their delight at the failure of the pension fund reform. "Women defeat failed BVG reform", the party headlined its statement on Sunday.

The communiqué went on to say that the voters' "no" was a clear sign that further pension cuts were out of the question. The pension gap for women must now finally be closed. The party has already positioned itself with regard to a new attempt to reform the second pillar: "The Greens are calling for the introduction of jointly financed education and care credits for BVG pensions," said National Councillor Manuela Weichelt from Zug.

1.22 p.m.

Biodiversity initiative fails due to majority of the cantons

The biodiversity initiative fails to gain a majority of the cantons. This is certain after the count in 15 of the 26 cantons. In none of these cantons was there a majority in favor of the initiative. However, the proposal was approved in several cities.

Lausanne approved the initiative with 60 percent and Lucerne with 53 percent. The voters of Zwischbergen VS voted against the initiative by a wide margin: The initiative was rejected in the village with 100 percent of the votes. Eischoll VS rejected the initiative with 94 percent of the vote.

1.18 p.m.

Swiss Federation of Trade Unions calls for a change of course in pension policy

The Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB) is calling for a change of course in pension policy following the "no" to the BVG reform. The situation of the population must be given greater consideration. "We know where the shoe pinches. Obviously, the federal government has forgotten this and lost touch," SGB pensions expert Gabriela Medici told SRF on Sunday. This had already been shown by the yes vote on the 13th AHV pension. "Now is the time to listen."

1.05 p.m.

New SRG projection

69% no to BVG reform and 63% no to biodiversity.

12.35 pm

First projection: 69% No to the BVG reform and 63% No to the biodiversity initiative.

The first projection is in: the BVG reform is rejected by 69%. The biodiversity initiative receives 63% no votes.

Support for the pension fund reform has fallen continuously. This is unusual for a government bill.

12.26 p.m.

An assessment from a third party

Der Kanton BL widerspiegelt zusammen mit AG & BE die Resultate von eidg. Abstimmungen gut. Auch wenn hier die urbaneren Gemeinden im unteren Baselbiet wie z.B . Allschwil noch fehlen: Das gibt national 2x ein sehr deutliches Nein. #Abst24 #CHvote #Trendkantone https://t.co/GK8eZ12aaJ

— Mark Balsiger (@Mark_Balsiger) September 22, 2024

12.22 p.m.

The first canton has been counted: Glarus clearly says no to both initiatives

The canton of Glarus opens the voting Sunday with a first final result. They reject the biodiversity initiative with 66 percent and the BVG reform with 67.5 percent.

12.11 p.m.

No additional efforts for biodiversity

In Switzerland, there are neither stricter requirements nor additional efforts to promote biodiversity. According to the trend calculation by gfs.bern on behalf of SRG, the people and the cantons have rejected the biodiversity initiative.

Lukas Golder from the gfs.bern research institute told SRF on Sunday that the No vote would be clear. The No to the biodiversity initiative comes as no surprise. In the most recent polls commissioned by SRG and Tamedia/20 Minuten, No votes of 51% and 56% respectively were expected. Compared to the previously published polls, approval decreased.

12.08 p.m.

Two thirds reject BVG reform

According to the latest projection by Leewas/Tamedia, the BVG reform has been rejected by 68 percent of votes against. This means that the years of reform work on the second pillar have failed.

The no vote at the ballot box is not entirely surprising. The BVG reform faced headwinds throughout the entire voting campaign. The last referendum polls put the No vote at 51% (SRG) and 59% (Tamedia/20 Minuten).

Since the introduction of the second pillar in 1985, the Federal Law on Occupational Retirement, Survivors' and Disability Pension Plans (BVG) has only been comprehensively reformed once, namely in the noughties. Since then, several attempts at reform have failed. Now work is starting again on field one.

12.05 p.m.

Two clear "no" votes in Graubünden

In the canton of Graubünden, clear "no" votes are emerging in the federal referendums on both the biodiversity initiative and the BVG reform. After 88 of the 101 municipalities had been counted, 69.4 percent of the votes cast for the biodiversity initiative were against, while 62.1 percent voted against the BVG reform.

12.03 p.m.

Canton of Zurich: Two no votes

In the canton of Zurich, a clear No to the BVG reform is emerging. The first projection by the cantonal statistics office puts the No vote at 63.9 percent.

According to the projection, voters in the canton of Zurich also defeated the biodiversity initiative at the ballot box. Accordingly, 56.6 percent of voters said no.

A voter turnout of around 46% is expected.

12 p.m.

People clearly say no twice

According to SRG projections, the Swiss electorate rejected both the BVG reform and the biodiversity initiative. The BVG reform in particular is expected to receive a clear "no" - a slap in the face for the Federal Council and parliament.

11.48 a.m.

First extrapolation is approaching

At 12 noon, SRG publishes the first projection of the results. In just under 10 minutes we will know whether the two proposals are likely to be a Yes or No vote.

11.25 a.m.

The first results are in

Although results may only be published from 12 noon, the first results are already in: the municipality of Münchwilen AG says no to the BVG reform, writes the "Tages-Anzeiger". This was with 181 no votes to 79 yes votes. The biodiversity initiative was also rejected - with 191 votes against to 68 in favor.

What about the BVG reform?

Supporters of the proposal have become fewer and fewer over the weeks. According to the latest SRG survey (as of September 2024), 51% of voters will put a "no" in the ballot box.

After Swiss voters approved the introduction of a 13th pension in the old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV), the first pillar of the system, in March, this time they are voting on a reform of occupational benefits insurance (BVG).

This is the second pillar of the pension system. This provides for employees and employers to save with a pension fund during their working life in order to build up assets that are converted into a pension at retirement age.

There are over 1000 pension funds in the country, many of which have their own regulations. However, the law on occupational pensions sets out minimum requirements. Some of these parameters are to be changed by the reform drawn up by the government and parliament and supported by the right-wing and center parties.

07.47 am

How is the biodiversity initiative faring?

According to the latest SRG survey, 51% of respondents were against the biodiversity initiative. It received more support from the Swiss abroad. 56 percent of them were in favor.

The initiative, which was submitted by nature and environmental protection associations in September 2020, calls for sufficient resources and areas for nature. It also wants better protection of the landscape and built heritage to be enshrined in the constitution.

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BVG reformHow your municipality voted

BiodiversityHow your municipality voted